USCIS Announces 63 Countries Eligible to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of State, has added Austria, Italy, Panama, and Thailand to the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs for the coming year. The notice listing the 63 eligible countries published January 17, 2014 in the Federal Register.

The H-2A and H-2B Visa programs allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs, respectively. Generally, USCIS only approves H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries the secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs.

USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries not on the list if it is determined to be in the interest of the United States.

Effective Jan. 18, 2014, nationals of the following 63 countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs:

Argentina	Fiji	Mexico	Slovakia
Australia	Grenada	Moldova	Slovenia
Austria	Guatemala	Montenegro	Solomon Islands
Barbados	Haiti	Nauru	South Africa
Belize	Honduras	The Netherlands	South Korea
Brazil	Hungary	Nicaragua	Spain
Bulgaria	Iceland	New Zealand	Switzerland
Canada	Ireland	Norway	Thailand
Chile	Israel	Panama	Tonga
Costa Rica	Italy	Papua New Guinea	Turkey
Croatia	Jamaica	Peru	Tuvalu
Dominican Republic	Japan	The Philippines	Ukraine
Ecuador	Kiribati	Poland	United Kingdom
El Salvador	Latvia	Romania	Uruguay
Estonia	Lithuania	Samoa	Vanuatu
Ethiopia	Macedonia	Serbia

This notice does not affect the status of beneficiaries who currently are in the United States in H-2A or H-2B status unless they apply to change or extend their status.  Each country’s designation is valid for one year from January 18, 2014.

For more information on USCIS and its programs please visit www.uscis.gov.