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_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Immigration of Temporary Lower-Skilled Workers: Current Policy and Related Issues

Andorra Bruno, Specialist in Immigration Policy

March 20, 2012

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42434.pdf

[full-text, 42 pages]

 

Summary

U.S. employers in various industries argue that they need to hire foreign workers to perform

lower-skilled jobs, while others maintain that many of these positions could be filled by U.S.

workers. Under current law, certain lower-skilled foreign workers, sometimes referred to as guest

workers, may be admitted to the United States to perform temporary service or labor under two

temporary worker visas: the H-2A visa for agricultural workers and the H-2B visa for

nonagricultural workers. Both programs are administered by the Department of Homeland

Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS) and the Department of

Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA).

 

The H-2A and H-2B programs—and guest worker programs broadly—strive to be both

responsive to legitimate employer needs for labor and to provide adequate protections for U.S.

and foreign temporary workers. There is much debate, however, about how to strike the

appropriate balance between these twin goals. Under the George W. Bush Administration, both

DHS and DOL issued regulations to streamline the H-2A and H-2B programs. The Obama

Administration retained the DHS rules, but rewrote the DOL rules. Arguing that the latter

provided inadequate protections for workers, it issued a new DOL final rule on H-2A employment

in 2010 and a new DOL final rule on H-2B employment in 2012. The Obama Administration also

issued a DOL final rule on H-2B wage rates in 2011.

 

Bringing workers into the United States under either the H-2A program or H-2B program is a

multi-agency process involving DOL, DHS, and the Department of State. As an initial step in the

process, employers must apply for DOL labor certification to ensure that U.S. workers are not

available for the jobs in question and that the hiring of foreign workers will not adversely affect

U.S. workers. The labor certification process has long been criticized as ineffective, with

agricultural employers complaining that it is burdensome and unresponsive to their labor needs

and labor advocates arguing that it provides too few protections for workers.

 

The H-2A program and foreign agricultural workers in general are a focus of congressional

attention in the 112th Congress. Among the related legislative measures, some bills would amend

current law on the H-2A visa, while others would establish new temporary agricultural worker

programs as alternatives to the H-2A program. Still other proposals would couple a legalization

program for agricultural workers with either H-2A or other agricultural labor-related reform.

DOL’s 2011 rules on H-2B employment and wages also have been subjects of congressional

interest.

 

Guest worker proposals may contain provisions on a range of component policy issues. Key

policy considerations include the labor market test to determine whether U.S. workers are

available for the positions, wages, and enforcement. The issue of adjustment of status, which

means the change to legal permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States, may also arise in

connection with guest worker programs.

 

While the discussion of current guest worker programs in this report focuses on the H-2A and H-

2B visas, it also covers the Summer Work Travel (SWT) program, the largest of several programs

under the J-1 visa for participants in work- and study-based exchange visitor programs. The SWT

program is particularly relevant because participants work largely in unskilled jobs, including H-

2B-like seasonal jobs at resorts and amusement parks.

 

Contents

Does the United States Need to Import Foreign Lower-Skilled Workers? ...................................... 1

Current Guest Worker Visas ............................................................................................................ 2

Overview of H-2A and H-2B Visas........................................................................................... 2

Temporary Labor Certification............................................................................................ 3

H-2A Program ........................................................................................................................... 4

H-2A Visa Issuances............................................................................................................ 5

Recent Regulatory Changes ................................................................................................ 6

H-2B Program ........................................................................................................................... 8

H-2B Visa Issuances and the Statutory Cap ........................................................................ 9

Recent Regulatory Changes .............................................................................................. 10

Other Guest Worker-Related Visas.......................................................................................... 13

J-1 Summer Work Travel Program.................................................................................... 13

Unauthorized Employment ............................................................................................................ 16

Employment Eligibility Verification........................................................................................ 16

Legislative Reform Efforts ............................................................................................................ 17

Temporary Agricultural Workers ............................................................................................. 17

Temporary Nonagricultural Workers ....................................................................................... 18

Policy Considerations .................................................................................................................... 19

Program Administration .......................................................................................................... 19

Labor Market Test ................................................................................................................... 20

Wages ...................................................................................................................................... 21

Seasonal or Temporary Nature of Work .................................................................................. 22

Numerical Limits..................................................................................................................... 23

Treatment of Family Members ................................................................................................ 24

Adjustment of Status of Guest Workers .................................................................................. 24

Enforcement ............................................................................................................................ 25

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 27

 

Figures

Figure 1. H-2A Visas Issued, FY1992-FY2011............................................................................... 5

Figure 2. H-2B Visas Issued, FY1992-FY2011............................................................................. 10

Figure 3. Participation in the J-1 Summer Work Travel Program.................................................. 16

 

Tables

Table 1. DOL H-2A and H-2B Labor Certification Determinations................................................ 4

Table A-1. Top States Granted H-2A Labor Certifications: FY2009 and FY2010 ........................ 28

Table A-2. Top States Granted H-2B Labor Certifications: FY2009............................................. 28

Table B-1. Number of H-2B Workers Certified by the U.S. Department of Labor, FY2010 ........ 29

Table C-1. Number of H-2A and H-2B Visas Issued, FY1992-FY2011........................................ 30

Table E-1. Current and New Regulations for Determining the Prevailing Wage for H-2B Workers............. 37

 

Appendixes

Appendix A. DOL H-2A and H-2B Labor Certifications by State ................................................ 28

Appendix B. DOL H-2B Labor Certifications by Occupation ...................................................... 29

Appendix C. H-2A and H-2B Visa Issuances ................................................................................ 30

Appendix D. DHS and DOL Regulations on H-2A and H-2B Nonimmigrants and their

Employment in the United States ............................................................................................... 31

Appendix E. H-2B Wage Requirements ........................................................................................ 35

 

 

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