Crs Report for Congress

At present, the United States has two main programs for temporarily importing low-skilled workers, sometimes referred to as guest workers. Agricultural guest workers enter through the H-2A visa program, and other guest workers enter through the H-2B visa program. Employers interested in importing workers under either program must first apply to the U.S. Department of Labor for a certification that U.S. workers capable of performing the work are not available and that the employment of alien workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Other requirements of the programs differ. The 109th Congress revised the H-2B program in the FY2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-13). Among the changes, a temporary provision was added to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to exempt certain returning H-2B workers from the H-2B annual numerical cap. The FY2007 Department of Defense authorization bill (P.L. 109-364) extended this exemption through FY2007. Other bills before the 109th Congress proposed to make changes to the H-2A program (S. 359/H.R. 884, H.R. 3857, S. 2087, Senate-passed S. 2611), the H-2B program (S. 278, H.R. 1587, S. 1438, S. 1918), and the \“H\” visa category generally (H.R. 3333), and to establish …