H-2B visas can be a great staffing solution for clubs needing help to staff during their busy times of year using temporary foreign workers. Below are some best practices to make your H-2B visa petitions an even greater success!
Avoid the numerical cap by utilizing in-country transfer petitions
The government limits the number of H-2B visas it issues to 66,000 annually. While winter-season clubs are largely immune from this problem due to lesser demand during that season, summer-season clubs with start dates from April through June are at risk of the government running out of visas.
Clubs can avoid the unknown of the numerical limit entirely by utilizing in-country transfer petitions whereby summer-season clubs recruit H-2B visa workers from organizations that have winter-seasons. These organizations are usually found in Florida, Arizona and ski country. H-2B workers transferring from one organization to another are exempt from the numerical cap. However, an H-2B visa worker can only stay in the U.S. for three years continuously, so make sure that the worker has enough time left to transfer to your club.
Only use a lawyer for your H-2B visa petitions
It is crucial that your club utilize a lawyer for your H-2B visa petition process because if legal requirements are missed, clubs can be fined for noncompliance. Also, due to the government initiatives aimed at H-2B visa petitions compliance, clubs have been denied and delayed petitions as well as punished for violations in H-2B visa petitions.
Protect against the uncertainty of J-1 visas with H-2B visas
Major J-1 visa reform is likely coming, so be careful about relying solely on J-1 visas to staff seasonally. This temporary exchange visitor visa cannot be used for ordinary employment—it must have bonafide training and experience components. Positions like housekeepers and dishwashers should be filled by H-2B visas rather than J-1 visas.
H-2B visa benefits
While H-2B visa regulations do not force clubs to offer housing or daily transportation to and from work, this is something that you will be asked during your H-2B visa recruiting. Make sure that you can answer questions about where people will live and how they will get to work. Purchasing bus tickets or bikes for your workers or offering them rides from other staff members can lead to happy H-2B workers that want to return to your club year after year. Also, when it comes to H-2B visa reimbursement for travel costs, be consistent and think ahead. More and more clubs are instituting travel reimbursement policies to be transparent about what they will reimburse and for consistency from year-to-year.
H-2B visas, when done strategically, are a wonderful staffing option for private clubs across the country to fully staff for their busy seasons.
Keith Pabian is an immigration attorney with a national practice focused on the private club industry. He can be reached at 617939-9444 or [email protected]. This article was prepared for educational purposes only.