H-2B USA

YEC is pleased to offer you an excellent opportunity of seasonal employment in the United States! Seasonal jobs are available in the following states: Nevada, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Montana. with 32 to 40 hours of employment per week. Over 40 hours per week of work will be paid.

Seasonal Jobs

What does it mean?

 H-2B visa to the United States offers an excellent opportunity for qualified non-U.S. residents aged 18 to 40 for temporarily seasonal non-agricultural employment.

All seasonal workers coming to the United States are usually employed by American businesses that experience a seasonal need in labor, which does not require special qualification. The most popular types of employers are: hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, golf clubs, ski resorts etc.

Program period

According to U.S. Immigration regulations, American employers are able to hire international staff only when they are unable to find and employ local U.S. workers for similar positions. American employers have the burden of establishing that their need for H-2B workers is seasonal and is either a one time, seasonal, peak, or intermittent in their application to the Department of Labor and USCIS which can either be approved or denied.

Generally the length of employment offered by American employers varies from 4 months to 10 months and depends on the approval of Immigration Authorities. On average, the length of employment offered by U.S. companies is 6 months, however, international workers are allowed to extend their visas while in U.S.

H-2B visa duration and departure from U.S.

Seasonal employment visas (H-2B’s) are issued by U.S. Consulates in a candidate’s home country. To qualify for H-2B visa issuance candidates must present at the Embassy a copy of the approved petition of their prospective  employer. Also, at the time of visa interview candidates need to show strong social ties to their home country and their intent to return home upon program completion. H-2B visas are issued for the period of employment, upon completion of which foreign workers must leave the U.S. within 10 days or must have an approval for extension of their stay from Immigration authorities based on extended employment contract.

Extension of H-2B Visa

Seasonal workers may apply for extension of their H-2B visas twice during their stay in U.S. In order to do so foreign workers need to have an employer who would be able to sponsor their visa. The H-2B visa extensions can be made only twice and this can be done with YEC.

Eligibility requirements

Though there are no specific requirements for seasonal employment programs, requirements vary with each employer and these are the general ones:

• Candidates should be 18 to 40
• Candidates should have good English
• Candidates should have secondary education
• Previous experience is a plus

Number of available hours and wages

The average number of hours available for seasonal workers varies from 32 to 40 hours per week which is usually paid at the rate of minimum $7.00 per hour. However, there is an opportunity to be offered higher number of work hours in case this becomes necessary for the employer. Seasonal workers are paid twice a week or weekly which depends on the employer workers are working for.

According to the U.S. regulations all foreign seasonal workers are assigned a personal Social Security Number which allows them to be legally employed in the United States. However, all seasonal workers need to be aware of taxes that they will have to pay while working in U.S. Usually federal and state taxes are withheld by employers workers are working for.

 All foreign workers are also required to file their income taxes at the end of the year.

Second jobs and additional income

All seasonal workers in the United States are legally allowed to be employed by the employer who had filed a petition with the Department of Labor and then with USCIS. If a worker leaves his/her job – the employer is required to report this to USCIS after which the workers are require to leave the United States or become unlawful residents.

Housing and meals 

 Housing for seasonal workers will be arranged by the employer for the period of employment agreement at the cost of $250 to $350 per month. Usually housing is arranged by employers so that several workers can share one apartment. The cost of housing will be deducted from the paycheck.

Each seasonal worker who accepts the terms of this program will need to pay the housing deposit in the amount of $400 before his/her arrival to the United States. Housing deposit is refundable at the end of seasonal employment provided that the housing unit is returned to the employer in good condition.

Application procedures

We recommend that all interested individuals apply to our offices no later than April 25, 2008. Individuals may apply at a later date, however placement can not be guaranteed.

The arrangement of seasonal employment program begins 6 to 9 months prior to anticipated date of actual arrival of foreign seasonal workers and below we provide application procedure details step by step:

Application requirements

All candidates interested in applying for seasonal employment program will need to provide the following documents:

• Signed agreement
• Registration fee
• Completed application form
• Letter to Employer
• Recommendation (Reference; if available)
• Passport size photo
• Passport Copy

All information provided in the application forms and other materials must be true and accurate. Recommendations and certificates from places of previous employment or educational institutions must be drawn on official letterheads and must contain full information of the entity and manager’s names, telephone numbers and address. All documents must be in English language only or translated by certified translator.