[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42909-42910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20424]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[CBP Dec. 09-34]


Notice of Postponement of H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visa 
Exit Program Pilot

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: General notice; postponement of commencement date.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announces the 
postponement of the commencement date of the H-2A and H-2B Temporary 
Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot, originally set for August 1, 2009. The 
pilot program will require temporary workers within H-2A and H-2B 
nonimmigrant classifications that enter the United States at either the 
port of San Luis, Arizona or the port of Douglas, Arizona, to depart 
from one of those ports and to submit certain biographical and 
biometric information at one of the kiosks established for this

[[Page 42910]]

purpose. A delay of the commencement date is necessary to ensure that 
the kiosks are fully operational.

DATES: The pilot program will commence December 8, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Erin M. Martin via e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 18, 2008, U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) published a Notice in the Federal Register (73 
FR 77049), announcing that CBP is establishing a new land-border exit 
system for H-2A temporary workers, starting on a pilot basis, at 
certain designated ports of entry.\1\ This notice was published 
concurrently and is in accordance with a Final Rule published by the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Federal Register (73 FR 
76891). The Final Rule implements the pilot program by adding 8 CFR 
215.9, which provides that an alien admitted on an H-2A visa at a port 
of entry participating in the Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program must 
also depart at the end of his or her authorized period of stay through 
a port of entry participating in the program and present designated 
biographic and/or biometric information upon departure. As required by 
8 CFR 215.9, CBP published a Notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 
77049) designating H-2A workers that enter the United States at either 
the port of San Luis, Arizona or the port of Douglas, Arizona, as 
participants in the Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program, who must depart 
from one of those ports and submit certain biographical and biometric 
information at one of the kiosks established for this purpose.
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    \1\ The H-2A nonimmigrant classification applies to aliens 
seeking to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or 
seasonal nature in the United States. Immigration and Nationality 
Act (Act or INA) sec. 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a); see 8 CFR 214.1(a)(2) (designation for H-2A 
classification).
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    On December 19, 2008, CBP published a Notice of Expansion of 
Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot To Include H-2B Temporary 
Workers in the Federal Register (73 FR 77817), in line with the Final 
Rule published concurrently by DHS in the Federal Register (73 FR 
78104).\2\ The Final Rule expands the pilot program by amending 8 CFR 
215.9, to provide that aliens admitted on an H-2B visa at a port of 
entry participating in the Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program must also 
depart at the end of his or her authorized period of stay through a 
port of entry participating in the program and present designated 
biographic and/or biometric information upon departure. As required by 
8 CFR 215.9, as amended, CBP published a Notice in the Federal Register 
(73 FR 77817) to include H-2B workers in the Temporary Worker Visa Exit 
Program at the ports of San Luis, Arizona and Douglas, Arizona.
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    \2\ The H-2B nonimmigrant classification applies to foreign 
workers coming to the U.S. temporarily to perform temporary, non-
agricultural labor or services. Immigration and Nationality Act (Act 
or INA) sec. 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b); 
see 8 CFR 214.1(a)(2) (designation for H-2B classification).
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    Pursuant to the Notices in the Federal Register (73 FR 77049 and 73 
FR 77817) published by CBP containing all the required elements 
referenced in 8 CFR 215.9, as amended, any alien that is admitted on an 
H-2A or H-2B visa into the United States at a designated port on or 
after August 1, 2009, is subject to the pilot program. However, in 
order to ensure that the facilities necessary to implement the pilot 
program are fully operational and meet the needs of the agency and the 
public, this notice postpones the start date of the pilot program. 
Accordingly, this notice postpones the start of the pilot program from 
August 1, 2009 to December 8, 2009.

    Dated: August 20, 2009.
Jayson P. Ahern,
Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. E9-20424 Filed 8-24-09; 8:45 am]
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