WASHINGTON UPDATE
To: AHC Organizations
Date: August 7, 2009
On August 6, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reopened the FY 2009 H-2B visa petition filing period for temporary foreign nonagricultural workers and will immediately accept new H-2B petitions.
Background
On January 7, 2009, USCIS announced that it had received enough H-2B petitions to meet the annual cap of 66,000. However, only 40,640 H-2B visas for 2009 have been issued to date. For this reason the USCIS is reopening the petition period to allow employers to take advantage of these unused H-2B visas.
The H-2B program is used by members of the horse industry, primarily horse trainers and owners who cannot find American workers to fill semi-skilled jobs at racetracks, horse shows, fairs and in similar non-agricultural activities.
New H-2B Petition Period
Petitions for these remaining FY 2009 H-2B visas must be received by Sept. 30, 2009.
Employers wishing to take advantage of these visas are encouraged to file as soon as possible. To qualify for a fiscal year 2009 H-2B cap number, employers must submit the Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker to USCIS with all required documents, including an approved Alien Employment Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor that is valid for the entire employment period stated on the petition. The petitioner must also indicate an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2009.
If you have any questions please call the AHC: 1-202-296-4031
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