U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), have announced the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in 2020. The
notice listing the eligible countries will be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 17, 2020.
For 2020, the acting secretary of Homeland Security has determined, with the concurrence of the Office of the Secretary of State, that the countries designated as eligible in 2019 will remain unchanged.
DHS maintains its authority to add countries to the eligible countries list at any time, and to remove any country whenever DHS and DOS determine that a country fails to meet the requirements for continued designation. Examples of factors that could result in the exclusion of a country or the removal of a country from the list include fraud, abuse, denial rates, overstay rates, human trafficking concerns, and other forms of noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the H-2 visa programs by nationals of that country.
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. Typically, USCIS approves H-2A and H-2B petitions only for nationals of countries that the secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs. However, USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions, including those that were pending as of the date of the Federal Register notice, for nationals of countries not on the list on a case-by-case basis only if doing so is determined to be in the interest of the United States.
Effective Jan. 19, 2020, nationals of the following countries are eligible to receive H-2A and H-2B visas:
Andorra
Finland
Malta
Serbia
Argentina
France
Moldova*
Singapore
Australia
Germany
Mozambique
Slovakia
Austria
Greece
Mexico
Slovenia
Barbados
Grenada
Monaco
Solomon Islands
Belgium
Guatemala
Mongolia
South Africa
Brazil
Honduras
Montenegro
South Korea
Brunei
Hungary
Nauru
Spain
Bulgaria
Iceland
The Netherlands
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Canada
Ireland
Nicaragua
Sweden
Chile
Israel
New Zealand
Switzerland
Colombia
Italy
Norway
Taiwan**
Costa Rica
Jamaica
Panama
Thailand
Croatia
Japan
Paraguay*
Timor-Leste
Czech Republic
Kiribati
Papua New Guinea
Tonga
Denmark
Latvia
Peru
Turkey
Dominican Republic*
Liechtenstein
Poland
Tuvalu
Ecuador
Lithuania
Portugal
Ukraine
El Salvador
Luxembourg
Romania
United Kingdom
Estonia
North Macedonia
Samoa
Uruguay
Fiji
Madagascar
San Marino
Vanuatu
*Moldova, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic are eligible to participate in the H-2A program, but they are not eligible to participate in the H-2B program.
**Regarding all references to “country” or “countries” in this document, it should be noted that the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Pub. L. No. 96-8, Section 4(b)(1), provides that “[w]henever the laws of the United States refer or relate to foreign countries, nations, states, governments, or similar entities, such terms shall include and such laws shall apply with respect to Taiwan.” 22 U.S.C. § 3303(b)(1). Accordingly, all references to “country” or “countries” in the regulations governing whether nationals of a country are eligible for H-2 program participation, 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(i) and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(1), are read to include Taiwan. This is consistent with the United States’ one-China policy, under which the United States has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan since 1979.
This notice does not affect the status of H-2 beneficiaries who currently are in the United States unless they apply to extend their status. It does apply to nonimmigrants changing status in the United States to H-2A or B. Each country’s designation is valid, subject to removal for failure to meet the requirements for continued designation, from Jan. 19, 2020, until Jan. 18, 2021.
