Source: USCIS, 1/18/18

USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State, have published the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to receive H-2A and H 2B visas in 2018. The notice listing the eligible countries was published on Jan. 18, 2018, in the Federal Register.

For 2018, Secretary of Homeland Security Nielsen and Secretary of State Tillerson have agreed:
• To add Mongolia to the list of countries eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, and 
• To no longer designate Belize, Haiti, and Samoa as eligible countries because they are not meeting the standards for the H-2A and H-2B visa programs. 
DHS reserves the right to add countries to the eligible countries list at any time, and to remove any country at any time DHS determines that a country fails to meet the requirements for continued designation.

H-2A and H-2B visas allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs, respectively. Typically, USCIS approves H-2A and H-2B petitions only for nationals of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs. However, USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries not on the list on a case-by-case basis if it is determined to be in the interest of the United States.

Effective Jan. 18, 2018, nationals of the following countries are eligible to receive H-2A and H 2B visas:

Andorra                         Fiji                    Madagascar                  Singapore

Argentina                      Finland              Malta                            Slovakia

Australia                       France              Moldova*                       Slovenia

Austria                          Germany           Mexico                          Solomon Islands

Barbados                      Greece              Monaco                         South Africa

Belgium                        Grenada            Mongolia                       South Korea

Brazil                            Guatemala        Montenegro                   Spain

Brunei                           Honduras          Nauru                           St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Bulgaria                        Hungary            Netherlands                   Sweden

Canada                         Iceland              Nicaragua                     Switzerland

Chile                             Ireland              New Zealand                 Taiwan**

Colombia                      Israel                Norway                         Thailand

Costa Rica                    Italy                  Panama                        Timor-Leste

Croatia                          Jamaica            Papua New Guinea        Tonga

Czech Republic             Japan               Peru                             Turkey

Denmark                       Kiribati              The Philippines              Tuvalu

Dominican Republic       Latvia               Poland                          Ukraine

Ecuador                        Liechtenstein     Portugal                        United Kingdom

El Salvador                   Lithuania           Romania                       Uruguay

Estonia                         Luxembourg      San Marino                    Vanuatu

Ethiopia                        Macedonia        Serbia

 *Moldova is designated to participate in the H-2A program, but it is not eligible to participate in the H-2B program.

**With respect to all references to “country” or “countries” in this document, it should be noted that the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Pub. L. No. 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 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(i) and 8 C.F.R. § 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.

This notice does not affect the status of beneficiaries who currently are in the United States in H-2A or H-2B status unless they apply to change or extend their status. Each country’s designation is valid for one year from Jan. 18, 2018.

For more information on these programs, see the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers page and the H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers page.