Truck drivers and other job shortages in the USA – an option for South Africans looking to make the move
The US is facing a massive shortage of truck drivers and other workers, with the unemployment rate rising from a 18-year low at the start of July.
In its 2017 US talent shortage survey, global staffing firm Manpower Group reported that skilled-trade vacancies are the hardest jobs to fill in the country.
As a result, skilled trades (such as electricians, truckers, carpenters, welders, bricklayers, plasterers and plumbers) have maintained the top position in vacancies from 2010 to the present.
While this shortage continues to face a number of industries across the country, it may provide an opportunity for South Africans seeking to live and work in the United States.
This is according to Karen-Lee Pollak, managing attorney at immigration firm Pollak PLLC*, who noted that there are certain temporary working visas available to foreign workers to fill these job shortages.
So why don’t South Africans get these visas, hop on a plane and come and live and work in the United States?
Non-agricultural work (H-2B)
The process is not that simple, Pollak said.
“The qualifying criteria for H2B visas is ‘temporary non-agricultural’ work of a ‘temporary’ nature.
“The US Congress set the annual H-2B visa cap at 66,000. A maximum of 33,000 H-2B visas are available during the first half of the fiscal year, and the remainder, including any unused H-2B visas from the first half of that fiscal year, are available starting 1 April through 30 September,” she said.
She added that these numbers are not very different from the yearly numbers for H1B visas, with the only difference being that those are reserved for what has come to be called ‘high skilled’ (professional workers) and fashion models.
“However, this year the United States was so short of seasonal non-agricultural labor that it increased the yearly cap of H2b visas by 15,000,” she noted.
Agricultural jobs
“Regarding the agricultural sector, the H-2A visa allows a foreign national entry into the United States for temporary or seasonal agricultural work,” Pollak said.
“The H-2A temporary agricultural program establishes a means for agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring non-immigrant foreign workers to the US to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature.
“There are also 66,000 visas issued each year also broken down into 33,000 in the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 in the second half of the fiscal year.”
She added that the visa process must be initiated by an American employer, which can often be a bureaucratic nightmare involving an ongoing slog of paperwork and fees.
This includes a number of administrative components which must be initiated several months before the date workers will be needed, she said.
“This itself presents an enormous problem: most crops are picked during a very small window of ripeness, and it’s nearly impossible to predict how weather and other factors may delay or speed up the harvest or need for skilled or agricultural workers.
“As part of the application process, employers must also pay a fee and submit extensive information about their hiring history and current labor needs.
“This process that must be repeated each year since these visas are exclusively for temporary workers—12 months is the maximum duration of employment although they may be renewed,” she said.
Steps to obtain these visas
Below Pollak outlined the steps involved in obtaining these visas:
- Form 790 – known as a ‘clearance order’, must be filed with the appropriate state workforce agency (SWA), which will then attempt to recruit workers on the employer’s behalf from throughout the state, and typically in neighboring states as well.
- Form 9142 – known as a ‘temporary labor certification’, must be filed with the US Department of Labor, describing the employer’s effort to recruit American workers and ‘proving’ that they have been unsuccessful.
- Various appendices detailing the wages, duration of employment, provisions for room and board, and other terms of employment that will be offered to the foreign workers.
- Once the temporary Labor Certification is approved, a petition for a Non-Immigrant Worker is filed with additional filing fees for each job and location of employment with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).
- Upon approval, visa recipients must attend an in-person interview at a US consulate in their home country, where the State Department officials evaluate whether they are admissible to the country (i.e. not convicted criminals or linked to terrorist activity) and pay several hundred dollars in application fees (which are supposed to be reimbursed by the employer in their first paycheck).
- An inspection of worker housing is required to ensure that it conforms to the Department of Labor’s minimum requirements, which include 50 square feet per person in sleeping areas and at least one toilet, showerhead, and stove per 10 workers.
Restrictions
Workers are also bound by several restrictions while in the United States, said Pollak.
These include:
- They cannot seek other employment unless they transfer their visa to another employer which is not practical given the time and expense it takes.
- If they are fired or choose to leave prior to completing their work contract, they must return immediately to their home country, or face deportation.
- Workers’ spouses and children may accompany them to the US, though their spouses are not eligible to work, and the employer is not obligated to provide housing or transportation to the family.
According to Pollak, employers may choose to renew these visas in maximum 12-month increments for a period of up to 3 years (going through much of the application process again each time), but afterwards the worker must return to their home country for at least 3 months before they are eligible to obtain another H-2A or H-2B visa.
In no circumstances are these visas considered a stepping stone to a permanent residency or citizenship, she said.
“However, the employer may sponsor the worker for permanent residency.
“Filing a permanent residency application, will not allow the worker to stay here while waiting for approval (if they don’t already have some temporary visa in place) which can take up to 3 years.
“If a green card application is filed, it is likely this temporary visa will not be renewed as the worker has evidenced non-immigrant intent.”
This means that despite the administrative hurdles involved, the H-2A and H-2B visas are still good options for South Africans to consider in developing a game-plan to live and work in the United States, Pollak said.
*Pollak PLLC is an immigration law firm that assists in obtaining visas but is not an employment or recruitment agency that helps find jobs.
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