Immigration Legislation: U.S. Issues New Rules for Temporary Immigrant Workers

U.S. Issues New Rules for Temporary Immigrant Workers | Feet in 2 Worlds : "This week, the U. S. Department of Labor quietly issued a final rule that affects wages for immigrant workers who are in the U.S. under the H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker program. It’s a little-advertised change that could significantly raise the wages paid to immigrant workers covered by the program, generally those performing lower-skilled jobs in industries such as landscaping, construction, restaurants and hotels. But some say the change may have a much wider economic impact.

The number of H-2B visas is capped at 66,000 per year. Currently employers are required to pay H-2B workers the prevailing wage in their industry. Now, by requiring the highest wage in some categories, DOL says that the new rules will better protect U.S. workers. Jan. 21, 2011