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TheBureau of Labor Statistics reported that the employment growth rate in the country has been trending down while the unemployment rate has risen to 8.1% in February 2009. Construction and manufacturing reflected a slight decline while job growth in major industries in both the goods-producing and service-providing sectors continued to decline significantly.
However, despite this reported weakening labor market condition, stories of labor shortages in various industries abound. Among the industries reportedly expanding are education and health services while leisure and hospitality remains substantially unchanged.One solution seen to address the labor shortages is the hiring of foreign workers. Many employers in the industries experiencing labor shortages require temporary or seasonal workers owing to the nature of their business. Seasonal employers have the most challenging time in attracting local workers to take temporary employment without the benefits customarily given to regular employees. On the other hand, maintaining regular workers for seasonal services could be detrimental to the business’ profitability. Employers faced with this dilemma may hire foreign workers to fill temporary positions under the H-2B program. To qualify under the H-2B program, the U.S. employer must be able to show that its need is temporary as justified by one-time occurrence, intermittent, seasonal, or peak load nature. It must also show that there are no U.S. workers available, willing or qualified in the area of the proposed employment. Further, the employment need must be full-time and generally not longer than 10 months for recurring employment need.Occupations common in H-2B petitions include hotel and restaurant workers, resort and spa workers, construction workers, entertainers, and child care and home support workers. H-2B may also be appropriate for programmers for a temporary assignment of installing a new computer program, professionals to work on a contract needing expertise not normally needed by the employer, or for relieving a regular employee during a leave of absence.
Like H-1B and other nonimmigrant worker petitions, H-2B petition is filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Prior to filing a petition with the USCIS, the employer must first obtain a temporary labor certification determination from Department of Labor (DOL). The application for temporary labor certification must be filed at least 60 days but not more than 180 days prior to the designated date of need for employment. An application can cover more than one worker, provided it is for the same occupation, area of intended employment, and period of need.
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