U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has included Croatia among 11 new countries that have entered the H-2A and H-2B non-immigrant visa program, which allows for temporary or seasonal employment in the USA, reports slobodnadalmacija.hr.
The H-2A and H-2B programs allow employers in the USA to bring foreign nationals to the USA to fill temporary or seasonal jobs for which American workers are not available, according to the decision by the Department of Homeland Security. The list of 11 new countries, published on Monday in the U.S. Federal Register, includes Croatia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, and Uruguay. They have been added to a group of 28 countries that are already participating in these programs.
The first list of participating countries in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, published in December 2008, ceased to be valid on January 18. After consulting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary Napolitano determined that the 11 newly designated countries meet the criteria necessary for participation in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, the Department of Homeland Security emphasized. In special cases, the Department of Homeland Security may allow a worker from a non-participating country to gain the right to participate in the H-2A or H-2B program if it is in the interest of the USA. (www.slobodnadalmacija.hr)
