USCIS has announced today the countries that are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs effective January 19, 2020. The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. The H-2B program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs.
Typically, USCIS approves H-2A and H-2B petitions only for nationals of countries that the secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs. However, USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions, including those that were pending as of the date of the Federal Register notice, for nationals of countries not on the list on a case-by-case basis only if doing so is determined to be in the interest of the United States.
The countries eligible for 2020 are the following:
| Andorra | Finland | Malta | Serbia |
| Argentina | France | Moldova* | Singapore |
| Australia | Germany | Mozambique | Slovakia |
| Austria | Greece | Mexico | Slovenia |
| Barbados | Grenada | Monaco | Solomon Islands |
| Belgium | Guatemala | Mongolia | South Africa |
| Brazil | Honduras | Montenegro | South Korea |
| Brunei | Hungary | Nauru | Spain |
| Bulgaria | Iceland | The Netherlands | St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Canada | Ireland | Nicaragua | Sweden |
| Chile | Israel | New Zealand | Switzerland |
| Colombia | Italy | Norway | Taiwan |
| Costa Rica | Jamaica | Panama | Thailand |
| Croatia | Japan | Paraguay* | Timor-Leste |
| Czech Republic | Kiribati | Papua New Guinea | Tonga |
| Denmark | Latvia | Peru | Turkey |
| Dominican Republic* | Liechtenstein | Poland | Tuvalu |
| Ecuador | Lithuania | Portugal | Ukraine |
| El Salvador | Luxembourg | Romania | United Kingdom |
| Estonia | North Macedonia | Samoa | Uruguay |
| Fiji | Madagascar | San Marino | Vanuatu |
*Moldova, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic are eligible to participate in the H-2A program, but they are not eligible to participate in the H-2B program.
This notice does not affect the status of H-2 beneficiaries who currently are in the United States unless they apply to extend their status. It does apply to nonimmigrants changing status in the United States to H-2A or B.
