Do Truck Drivers Qualify for The H-2B Temporary Visa Program?

Drivers have the opportunity to put their skills to work beyond their borders. Experienced truck drivers can use the H-2B visa to enter the USA as long as they work with the right employer. Potential employers should be able to meet all legal requirements (outlined here https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-temporary-non-agricultural-workers) before seeking foreign drivers. It is also important for all drivers to check that employers and agents are who they say they are, and should contact USCIS if they have any suspicions to the validity of their employment offer

To ease this process, you must know what to check before accepting employment. The requirements to look out for include the following:

Labor Certification

Labor certification is obtained from the Department of Labor. To get it, all employers must provide relevant information to the department.

What do they look at?

The employer should have established the lack of U.S. workers for the same position. Temporary foreign drivers can only access such posts only when the current residents are not willing or available to take employment.

Employing H-2B workers should not affect the wages and/or working of U.S. employed drivers. Simply because you have more drivers on the road does not mean that you can neglect or downsize their benefits. All privileges and benefits associated with the current/permanent U.S. employees remain intact.

Keep in mind that this visa is only issued for temporary driver positions. Under no circumstance can a foreigner acquire a permanent job and remain in the United States with an H-2B visa.

A temporary position should not be confused as a one-time occurrence job. A temporary job as a driver under this visa can last to a maximum of one year and is renewable for up to three years depending on the situation.

What is a one-time Occurrence?

An employer may wish to employ a special workforce for a specific need during a given time only. However, they must show why they must outsource for aliens. They must also be sure to provide evidence that they did not employ workers for the position before and that they will not need to hire for a similar job in the future. The alternative need for requesting for a one-time occurrence is the emergence of a situation that causes a permanent position to run vacant as an emergency. The need to urgently fill this position may call for a one-time occurrence.

Seasonal Need

An employer looking to meet a seasonal need must show employing a driver at that point in time is an ongoing tradition. The annual repeat predicts the need to employ drivers at the provided time of the year. If the time of employment is unpredictable or it keeps changing, then it fails to be a seasonal need.

Peak load Needs

Peak load need refers to specific times of the year when there is relatively high demand. However, employers cannot turn temporary drivers into permanent drivers. If they have to do this, the employee will have to seek a different visa. Therefore, they must travel back to their home country once the term comes to an end. If the employer seeks to extend the work duration of the H-2B Visa, they can do so for an additional 3 years.

Intermittent need

An intermittent need arises where an employer has not employed permanent workers for the position but that they need occasional workers to provide the service.

Employers with the above provisions can apply for the H-2B Visa program as long as they can show that they need the services and there are no locals that can get the jobs done. They also need to advertise the job locally to see if there are any local truck drivers that will apply for the jobs before they advertise them internationally.

If you are an employer looking to advertise your role nationally, you can do so here https://h2bjobboard.com/job-packages/
DISCLAIMER: The H2B Job board is not a law firm or government body. Please check with the appropriate resource, You can find up to date information here (https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-temporary-non-agricultural-workers)