USCIS Issues Final Rule On Hiring H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers

On January 18, 2009, a new Final Rule will come into effect on hiring H-2B temporary non-agricultural workers. This program allows employers who cannot fill temporary non-agricultural jobs with U.S. workers to seek permission to fill those positions with foreign workers. The Final Rule, which was first proposed in August 2008, retains many of the provisions of the proposed rule but also some new modifications.

The Final Rule on hiring H-2B workers includes the following provisions.

Definitions

The definition of "temporary services or labor" now includes a specific one-time need of up to three years, without requiring the employer to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances.