DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

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.

Contact Us. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-569-1768 or call 619-819-9204.

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