[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2020)] [Notices] [Pages 3067-3069] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2020-00795] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0108] RIN 1601-ZA11 Identification of Foreign Countries Whose Nationals Are Eligible To Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Nonimmigrant Worker Programs AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DHS. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may generally only approve petitions for H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant status for nationals of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, has designated by notice published in the Federal Register. That notice must be renewed each year. This notice announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is identifying 84 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A program and 81 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2B program for the coming year. DATES: The designations in this notice are effective from January 19, 2020, and shall be without effect after January 18, 2021. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ihsan Gunduz, Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528, (202) 282-9708. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Generally, USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of only those countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, has designated as participating countries.\1\ Such designation must be published as a notice in the Federal Register and expires after one year. In designating countries to include on the list, the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, will take into account factors including, but not limited to: (1) The country's cooperation with respect to issuance of travel documents for citizens, subjects, nationals, and residents of that country who are subject to a final order of removal; (2) the number of final and unexecuted orders of removal against citizens, subjects, nationals, and residents of that country; (3) the number of orders of removal executed against citizens, subjects, nationals, and residents of that country; and (4) such other factors as may serve the U.S. interest. See 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(i) and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(1). Examples of factors serving the U.S. interest that could result in the exclusion of a country or the removal of a country from the list include, but are not limited to: Fraud, abuse, nonimmigrant overstay \2\ rates (including but not limited to H-2 nonimmigrants), and other forms of non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the H-2 visa programs by nationals of that country. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ With respect to all references to ``country'' or ``countries'' in this document, it should be noted that the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Public Law 96-8, Section 4(b)(1), provides that ``[w]henever the laws of the United States refer or relate to foreign countries, nations, states, governments, or similar entities, such terms shall include and such laws shall apply with respect to Taiwan.'' 22 U.S.C. 3303(b)(1). Accordingly, all references to ``country'' or ``countries'' in the regulations governing whether nationals of a country are eligible for H-2 program participation, 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(i) and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(1), are read to include Taiwan. This is consistent with the United States' one-China policy, under which the United States has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan since 1979. \2\ An overstay occurs when a nonimmigrant who was lawfully admitted to the United States for an authorized period remains in the United States beyond his or her authorized period of admission. For purposes of this Federal Register Notice, DHS uses FY 2018 U.S. Customs and Border Protection H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant overstay data. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- USCIS, however, may allow, on a case-by-case basis, a national from a country that is not on the list to be named as a beneficiary of an H- 2A or H-2B petition based on a determination that such participation is in the U.S. interest. Determination of such U.S. interest will take into account factors, including but not limited to: (1) Evidence from the petitioner demonstrating that a worker with the required skills is not available either from among U.S. workers or from among foreign workers from a country currently on the list described in 8 CFR 214.2 (h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(i) (H-2A nonimmigrants) or 214.2(h)(6)(1)(E)(1) (H-2B nonimmigrants), as applicable; (2) evidence that the beneficiary has been admitted to the United States previously in H-2A or H-2B status; (3) the potential for abuse, fraud, or other harm to the integrity of the H-2A or H-2B visa program through the potential admission of a beneficiary from a country not currently on the list; and (4) such other factors as may serve the U.S. interest. See 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(ii) and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(2). In December 2008, DHS published in the Federal Register two notices, ``Identification of Foreign Countries Whose Nationals Are Eligible to Participate in the H-2A Visa Program,'' and ``Identification of Foreign Countries Whose Nationals Are Eligible to Participate in the H-2B Visa Program,'' which designated 28 countries whose nationals were eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs. See 73 FR 77043 (Dec. 18, 2008); 73 FR 77729 (Dec. 19, 2008). The notices ceased to have effect on January 17, 2010, and January 18, 2010, respectively. See 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(2) and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(3). In implementing these regulatory provisions, the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, has published a series of notices on a regular basis. See 75 FR 2879 (Jan. 19, 2010) (adding 11 countries); 76 FR 2915 (Jan. 18, 2011) (removing 1 country and adding 15 countries); 77 FR 2558 (Jan. 18, 2012) (adding 5 countries); 78 FR 4154 (Jan. 18, 2013) (adding 1 country); 79 FR 3214 (Jan.17, 2014) (adding 4 countries); 79 FR 74735 (Dec. 16, 2014) (adding 5 countries); 80 FR 72079 (Nov. 18, 2015) (removing 1 country from the H-2B program and adding 16 countries); 81 FR 74468 (Oct. 26, 2016) (adding 1 country); 83 FR 2646 (Jan. 18, 2018) (removing 3 countries and adding 1 country); 84 FR 133 (Jan. 18, 2019) (removing 2 countries from both the H-2A program [[Page 3068]] and the H-2B program, removing 1 country from only the H-2B program, and adding 2 countries to both programs and 1 country to only the H-2A program). Countries With Continued Eligibility The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, that 84 countries previously designated to participate in the H-2A program in the January 18, 2019 notice continue to meet the regulatory standards for eligible countries and therefore should remain designated as countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A program. Additionally, the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, that 81 countries previously designated to participate in the H-2B program in the January 18, 2019 notice continue to meet the regulatory standards for eligible countries and therefore should remain designated as countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2B program. These determinations take into account how the regulatory factors identified above apply to each of these countries. Countries Designated as Eligible The Secretary of Homeland Security has now determined, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, that the countries designated as eligible shall remain unchanged for 2020. Consistent with the 2019 notice, nationals of non-designated countries may still be beneficiaries of approved H-2A and H-2B petitions upon the request of the petitioner if USCIS determines, as a matter of discretion and on a case-by-case basis, that it is in the U.S. interest for the individual to be a beneficiary of such petition. See 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(ii) and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(2). USCIS may favorably consider a beneficiary of an H-2A or H-2B petition who is not a national of a country included on the H-2A or H-2B eligibility list as serving the national interest, depending on the totality of the circumstances. Factors USCIS may consider include, among other things, whether a beneficiary has previously been admitted to the United States in H-2A or H-2B status and complied with the terms of the program. An additional factor for beneficiaries of H-2B petitions, although not necessarily determinative standing alone, would be whether the H-2B petition qualifies under section 1045 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2020, Public Law 116- 92. However, any ultimate determination of eligibility will be made according to all of the relevant factors and evidence in each individual circumstance. Designation of Countries Whose Nationals Are Eligible To Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Nonimmigrant Worker Programs Pursuant to the authority provided to the Secretary of Homeland Security under sections 214(a)(1), 215(a)(1), and 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(a)(1), 1185(a)(1), and 1231), I am designating, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, nationals from the following countries to be eligible to participate in the H-2A nonimmigrant worker program: 1. Andorra 2. Argentina 3. Australia 4. Austria 5. Barbados 6. Belgium 7. Brazil 8. Brunei 9. Bulgaria 10. Canada 11. Chile 12. Colombia 13. Costa Rica 14. Croatia 15. Czech Republic 16. Denmark 17. Dominican Republic 18. Ecuador 19. El Salvador 20. Estonia 21. Fiji 22. Finland 23. France 24. Germany 25. Greece 26. Grenada 27. Guatemala 28. Honduras 29. Hungary 30. Iceland 31. Ireland 32. Israel 33. Italy 34. Jamaica 35. Japan 36. Kiribati 37. Latvia 38. Liechtenstein 39. Lithuania 40. Luxembourg 41. Macedonia 42. Madagascar 43. Malta 44. Mexico 45. Moldova 46. Monaco 47. Mongolia 48. Montenegro 49. Mozambique 50. Nauru 51. The Netherlands 52. New Zealand 53. Nicaragua 54. Norway 55. Panama 56. Papua New Guinea 57. Paraguay 58. Peru 59. Poland 60. Portugal 61. Romania 62. Samoa 63. San Marino 64. Serbia 65. Singapore 66. Slovakia 67. Slovenia 68. Solomon Islands 69. South Africa 70. South Korea 71. Spain 72. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 73. Sweden 74. Switzerland 75. Taiwan 76. Thailand 77. Timor-Leste 78. Tonga 79. Turkey 80. Tuvalu 81. United Kingdom 82. Ukraine 83. Uruguay 84. Vanuatu Pursuant to the authority provided to the Secretary of Homeland Security under sections 214(a)(1), 215(a)(1), and 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(a)(1), 1185(a)(1), and 1231), I am designating, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, nationals from the following countries to be eligible to participate in the H-2B nonimmigrant worker program: 1. Andorra 2. Argentina 3. Australia 4. Austria 5. Barbados 6. Belgium 7. Brazil 8. Brunei 9. Bulgaria 10. Canada 11. Chile 12. Colombia 13. Costa Rica 14. Croatia 15. Czech Republic 16. Denmark 17. Ecuador 18. El Salvador 19. Estonia 20. Fiji 21. Finland 22. France 23. Germany 24. Greece 25. Grenada 26. Guatemala [[Page 3069]] 27. Honduras 28. Hungary 29. Iceland 30. Ireland 31. Israel 32. Italy 33. Jamaica 34. Japan 35. Kiribati 36. Latvia 37. Liechtenstein 38. Lithuania 39. Luxembourg 40. Macedonia 41. Madagascar 42. Malta 43. Mexico 44. Monaco 45. Mongolia 46. Montenegro 47. Mozambique 48. Nauru 49. The Netherlands 50. New Zealand 51. Nicaragua 52. Norway 53. Panama 54. Papua New Guinea 55. Peru 56. Poland 57. Portugal 58. Romania 59. Samoa 60. San Marino 61. Serbia 62. Singapore 63. Slovakia 64. Slovenia 65. Solomon Islands 66. South Africa 67. South Korea 68. Spain 69. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 70. Sweden 71. Switzerland 72. Taiwan 73. Thailand 74. Timor-Leste 75. Tonga 76. Turkey 77. Tuvalu 78. Ukraine 79. United Kingdom 80. Uruguay 81. Vanuatu This notice does not affect the status of aliens who currently hold valid H-2A or H-2B nonimmigrant status. Aliens currently holding such status, however, will be affected by this notice should they seek an extension of stay in H-2 classification, or a change of status from one H-2 status to another, for employment on or after the effective date of this notice. Similarly, aliens holding nonimmigrant status other than H-2 status are not affected by this notice unless they seek a change of status to H-2 status. Nothing in this notice limits the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security or his designee or any other federal agency to invoke against any foreign country or its nationals any other remedy, penalty, or enforcement action available by law. Chad F. Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security. [FR Doc. 2020-00795 Filed 1-16-20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P