Information for Employers/Petitioners in the United States

Information for Employers/Petitioners in the United States

H-2 visas are petition-based visas, meaning that a U.S. employer must obtain a temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor and receive a Notice of Approval (I-797B) of the petition from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before scheduling a visa appointment for its workers with the Department of State.

The petitioner must apply for and receive a temporary labor certification for H-2A or H-2B workers from DOL. For further information regarding the temporary labor certification application process, please refer to the Foreign Labor Certification, Department of Labor Web page.

After receiving a temporary labor certification from DOL, the petitioner must file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker with USCIS. For further information regarding the USCIS petition process, please refer to the USCIS webpages for H-2A workers  and H-2B workers .

Once the petitioner has received the Notice of Approval (I-797B) from USCIS stating that the petition was approved, an appointment for a visa interview for the workers at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate may be scheduled. While the workers themselves may schedule their own appointments, in general, petitioners and/or their agents schedule all appointments for their workers. Applicants will need to fill out a DS-160 visa application form, pay a $190 USD payment, and possess a valid passport

If you are a petitioner and plan to schedule your workers’ visa appointments with the US Embassy, please see steps 3 through 6 of Information for H-2 Visa Applicants.