ALP: How can I find additional staff during the summer months?
Q: How can I find additional staff during the summer months?
A: There are two non-immigrant visas that can be used to hire foreign nationals in this situation. The first is the J-1 for Summer/Work Travel. The second is the H-2B—an option for work that is either peak, seasonal, a one-time occurrence, or intermittent.
J-1 Visa
A J-1 visa allows foreign students who are enrolled full-time and pursuing a degree at a post-secondary institution to come to the United States to work for up to four months. Participants often are employed in restaurants, hotels, and amusement parks. Summer Work/Travel participants must receive the same pay and benefits as U.S. citizens in the same or similar positions. The paperwork involved with a Summer/Work Travel participant can take several weeks so employers should plan ahead.
H-2B Visa
The second visa option is the H-2B. The H-2B is appropriate where the need for staff is less than one year. Unlike the J-1 it is not limited to students; however, it does require that the employer test the labor market.
The employer files for a temporary labor certification with the Department of Labor regarding the availability of U.S. workers. If the certification is denied or cannot be issued, an employer can submit countervailing information to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in support of the H-2B petition. Employers can file for multiple openings for the same position, area of employment and period of time.
There is, however, a limit on the number of H-2Bs that can be issued. Only 33,000 H-2B visas are available each half of the fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). For the current fiscal year (2007), the H-2B visas available for the second half were already used by March 16. Therefore, employers wishing to use this visa option need to begin the process early in order to get an H-2B visa.
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