Federal Regulations 20 CFR Part 655 allows Business Owners and Contractors the ability to recruit Foreign Labor when there is a shortage of American Workers to fill labor shortages. The construction industry falls in this category under the H-2B Visa Program. Under the new Interim Final Rules published in April 2015, the he State Workforce Agencies (SWA’s) are now part of the H-2B application process.
Employers or their acting representative now have to file a Form 9141 to request the required prevailing wage with the Department of Labor Prevailing Wage Center in Washington, DC. Then the employer or their acting representative advertises the job in at least one Sunday newspaper and one other day once the job is posted on the State Workforce Agency for 14 days. After the required recruiting period, the H-2B Form 9142B application is filed with the Processing Center in Chicago, IL for consideration.
There is a annual cap of 66,000 H-2B Visas issued annually with 33,000 beginning October 1st and the remaining 33,000 April 1st.
The issuance of foreign labor H-2B Visas are temporary in nature for a period not to exceed nine (9) months under the new Interim Final Rules published in April 2015.
Employers seek the use of foreign labor instead of really trying to hire American Workers with decent pay and benefits. The majority of Texas Employers in the Construction Industry file the H-2B Visa Form 9142B with the job descriptions of journeymen while the education, training and skills requirements are mostly listed as none required. Some of the jobs even require the passing of tests after listing no training required in their job postings and newspaper ads.
We have found that most of the foreign workers that are recruited and used are trained journeymen working at the lower level skill wages or wrong occupational classifications.
Under the new Interim Final Rules published in April 2015, the prevailing wage is the Level 3 H-2B Median Wage. The use of Davis/Bacon or Service Contract prevailing wages is no longer even allowed for consideration under the new Interim Final Wage Rules also published in April 2015.
Many of the classifications used for construction jobs are using production occupations instead of the proper construction trades. If the proper classifications and the proper journeymen wages were used, then we would probably see more American Workers seeking these jobs.
Many H-2B Visas workers leave their approved employer early or seek other jobs after the approved time period of work has expired at the approved location and many times they leave their approved job before they complete the approved time period.
H-2B Visa workers that do not return home as required by law takes away future jobs in the Construction Industry from American Workers.
Yes, but it is very limited and the Staff Lasing Agency has to follow very strict requirements required in the new Interim Final Rules published in April 2015 in the Federal Register under 20 CFR Part 655.
