The Seasonal Employment Alliance represents over 2,500 seasonal employers across the United States who utilize the H-2B temporary non-agricultural work visa program. Over the last two years, we have made the case, to both the Trump and Biden administrations, that expanding the number of H-2B visas made available to the Northern Triangle (NT) countries would help reduce the flow of irregular migration as well as provide direct economic assistance to the NT countries. We even traveled to Honduras in February of 2020 to promote the policy and observe the reforms the Honduran government and US Consulate had made to the H-2 worker vetting process.
The culmination of this effort was realized this May when the U.S. Government made available 6,000 H-2B visas, specifically for citizens of the Northern Triangle countries to come to the U.S. and work. U.S. employers requested over 7,000 Northern Triangle workers from this allocation with Seasonal Employment Alliance members alone requesting more than 2,500.
Although less than half of the allocation of H-2B visas to the Northern Triangle countries was ultimately issued, the allocation should be viewed as a success. You need to learn to walk before you can run and this applies to the process of expanding H-2B program usage in the Northern Triangle countries. The NT countries and U.S. Consulates were not prepared for the demand. Processing reforms had to be made but without an allocation of visas, there would have been no way to understand everything that needed to be improved/corrected. There is nothing like real time!
Where we’ve been:
- On May 20th DHS announced the release of 22,000 additional H-2B visas with 6,000 allocated to the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The Northern Triangle (NT) allocation was the culmination of our and the administration’s effort to secure additional visas for the NT countries. U.S. employers requested workers from these countries to fill 5,500 of the 6,000 allocated visas, with Seasonal Employment Alliance members alone requesting more than 2,000.
- Unfortunately, the process of getting the workers to U.S. employers did not go as smoothly as all stakeholders would have liked. Employers and H-2B program agents, encountered most notably the following issues:
- Lack of database of identified and vetted workers: The NT ministries of labor claimed that they had thousands of workers in their databases who had been prescreened and were standing by, ready to be matched with employers. This was not the case. Some agents provided job descriptions and their number of workers expected to be requested as early as April, yet when the NT visa petitions were approved in early June, the ministries did not have any workers identified.
- Poor communication: The lack of communication from the ministries further compounded the myriad of issues employers and agents faced with them. The ministries would receive a request for X number of workers but then would take weeks to respond. This could have been because the ministries were having difficulty finding workers with the requested skills, especially English speakers, but instead of notifying the employer/agent of the workers they had available and what is possible, they did not communicate for weeks. It was not until pressure was applied by SEA and the Northern Triangle Taskforce did the communication improve.
- Requiring physical I797B approval prior to moving forward with worker request: The NT Consulates insisted upon receiving the physical I797B before proceeding with appointment scheduling. The consulates, just as is done in Mexico, should have accepted the USCIS email approval. This added several weeks to the processing times. This reform has since been made.
There were a myriad of other issues but most have been resolved thanks to the tireless work of the NT ministries of labor and of USAID’s Northern Triangle Taskforce.
Where we’re going:
As a result of the ministries and consulates addressing a number of issues we have identified (ex. passport processing times, breaking down barrier between the program agents and the workers etc.), processing times have improved significantly. The NT countries had never previously experienced this level of demand. It was expected that there were going to be issues. We have been working through these issues diligently and we now believe that the ministries and consulates are in the position to handle increased demand.
The most important actions that can now be taken are the following:
- Build up database of workers: This should be done through a series of job fairs in the NT countries. This should be a Public/Private Partnership between the US State Department, NT Ministries and US H-2B Program Stakeholders. The purpose of these job fairs would be to develop a list of workers with the skillsets necessary to match employer needs.
- Switch appointment scheduling contractors: Currently, the U.S. Consulates in the Northern Triangle countries use Travel Docs (CGI) while the consulates in Mexico and other countries use CSRI by Yatri (The Official Visa Information and Appointment system for the Embassy of the United States in Mexico). Yatri has a much more efficient system and is less cumbersome. An employer/facilitator can also buy MRVs in bulk. Switching contractors to CSRA would improve the processing times significantly. If it is not possible to switch contractors, the Taskforce could facilitate direct coordination between Travel Docs and SEA to rectify our issues with their system. SEA worked directly with CSRA to help test and tweak the Yatri system before it became live. We could do the same with Travel Docs.
- Remove the firewall between the consulates/embassies and the agents/employers: We currently have not contact person in any of the Northern Triangle countries with the U.S. Embassy. Agents and employers need a working email address for the consulate in each country that is monitored daily and where the consular offices follow up on the issues raised and rectify them [as is done in Mexico].
- Embassy issuance of 221gs (Guatemala):Employers have workers that were processed back in March and received a 221g (request for interview) but the interview has yet to be scheduled. 20-30% of workers are receiving 221gs (requiring interview to obtain a visa). The Embassy is conducting a very limited number of interviews due to COVID-19. We understand the complexities caused by navigating this virus but the fact that Guatemala is conducting a minimal number of interviews in comparison to the high percentage of workers receiving 221gs is putting the country at a strategic disadvantage when compared to countries like Mexico and El Salvador which are allowing follow-up interviews for all applicants within a week, or two at the most.
- Allocate additional visas to the Northern Triangle countries: Employers value certainty over all else. If they know they will have a guaranteed workforce each year they will choose whatever path provides certainty. We have an incredible opportunity to address and to solve the policy goals of the administration in the Northern Triangle countries by expanding H-2B program participation through executive action.
It is critical that barriers to entry not be established to prevent private facilitators to operate within the NT countries. A hybrid approach of the ministry and private recruiters is the best path forward. The goal should be to increase the number of H-2B visas issued and not differentiate between those going through the ministry and those going through private recruiters. Competition brings out the best in all!
The Seasonal Employment Alliance remains committed to increasing H-2B program usage in the Northern Triangle countries. We have been working closely with USAID’s Northern Triangle Taskforce and the NT Ministries of Labor and believe that when the Biden administration allocates additional visas to the NT countries in the future, the process is in place to fully exhaust the number of visas released. Processing times have been improved significantly which gives employers and H-2B program agents the confidence to commit to NT workers.