DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs — Visa Lawyer Blog — November 17, 2023
In continuance of the information provided in our blog post concerning additional visa allocations for the H-2B cap, we share new updates recently from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
On November 9, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), published a Notice in the Federal Register identifying the list of foreign countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Nonimmigrant Worker Programs next year.
Effective November 9, 2023, nationals of the following countries are eligible to receive H-2A and H-2B visas:
| Andorra | The Kingdom of Eswatini | Madagascar | Saint Lucia |
| Argentina | Fiji | Malta | San Marino |
| Australia | Finland | Mauritius | Serbia |
| Austria | France | Mexico | Singapore |
| Barbados | Germany | Monaco | Slovakia |
| Belgium | Greece | Mongolia* | Slovenia |
| Bolivia | Grenada | Montenegro | Solomon Islands |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Guatemala | Mozambique | South Africa |
| Brazil | Haiti | Nauru | South Korea |
| Brunei | Honduras | The Netherlands | Spain |
| Bulgaria | Hungary | New Zealand | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Canada | Iceland | Nicaragua | Sweden |
| Chile | Ireland | North Macedonia | Switzerland |
| Colombia | Israel | Norway | Taiwan*** |
| Costa Rica | Italy | Panama | Thailand |
| Croatia | Jamaica | Papua New Guinea | Timor-Leste |
| Republic of Cyprus | Japan | Paraguay** | Turkey |
| Czech Republic | Kiribati | Peru | Tuvalu |
| Denmark | Latvia | The Philippines* | Ukraine |
| Dominican Republic | Liechtenstein | Poland | United Kingdom |
| Ecuador | Lithuania | Portugal | Uruguay |
| El Salvador | Luxembourg | Romania | Vanuatu |
| Estonia |
*Mongolia and the Philippines are eligible to participate in the H-2B program but are not eligible to participate in the H-2A program.
**Paraguay is eligible to participate in the H-2A program but is not eligible to participate in the H-2B program.
Please note: This notice does not affect the status of H-2 beneficiaries who currently are in the United States unless they apply to extend their stay in H-2 status on the basis of a petition filed on or after the date of publication of the Federal Register Notice. Similarly, this notice would not affect the eligibility of an H-2 beneficiary to apply for an H-2 visa and/or seek admission to the United States based on an H-2 petition approved prior to the date of publication of the Federal Register Notice. It does apply to nonimmigrants changing status in the United States to H-2A or H-2B. Each country’s designation is valid from Nov. 9, 2023, until Nov. 8, 2024.
For more information about these programs, please visit the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers and H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers pages on our website.
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