[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 189 (Thursday, September 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60518-60519]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24716]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Notice of Discontinuation of H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visa
Exit Program Pilot CBP Dec. 11-16
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: General notice; discontinuation of program pilot.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces that CBP is discontinuing the H-2A and
H-2B Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot, effective September 29,
2011. The pilot began on December 8, 2009. It required temporary
workers in H-2A or H-2B nonimmigrant classifications who enter the
United States at the port of San Luis, Arizona, or the port of Douglas,
Arizona, to depart (at the time of their final departure) from these
respective ports and to submit certain biographical and biometric
information at one of the kiosks established for this purpose.
DATES: The program pilot will be discontinued on September 29, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Erin M. McGillicuddy, Program
Manager, Admissibility and Passenger Programs, Office of Field
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, via e-mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 18, 2008, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) published a notice in the Federal Register
announcing that CBP was establishing a pilot program for a land-border
exit system for H-2A temporary workers at certain designated ports of
entry effective August 1, 2009.\1\ 73 FR 77049.
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\1\ The H-2A nonimmigrant classification applies to aliens
seeking to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or
seasonal nature in the United States. Immigration and Nationality
Act sec. 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a); see
generally 8 CFR 214.12(h)(5)(a)(2) (describing requirements for H-2A
classification).
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The notice provided that H-2A workers who enter the United States
at either the port of San Luis, Arizona, or the port of Douglas,
Arizona, as participants in the Temporary Worker
[[Page 60519]]
Visa Exit Program must depart from one of those ports and submit
certain biographical and biometric information at one of the kiosks
established for this purpose.
On December 19, 2008, CBP published a second notice in the Federal
Register, ``Notice of Expansion of Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program
Pilot to Include H-2B Temporary Workers.'' 73 FR 77817.\2\
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\2\ The H-2B nonimmigrant classification applies to foreign
workers entering the United States to perform temporary, non-
agricultural labor or services. INA sec. 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), 8
U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b); see generally 8 CFR 214.1(a)(2)(h)(62)
(designation for H-2B classification).
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CBP published a third notice in the Federal Register on August 25,
2009 announcing the postponement of the commencement date of the H-2A
and H-2B temporary Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot until December 8,
2009. 74 FR 42909.
The pilot has been operating for more than a year. The pilot tested
the processes and technology used to monitor compliance and record the
final departures of persons admitted under temporary worker visas as
well as its general design and implementation. During this period, DHS
gathered enough data to assess the pilot's technology, design and
implementation and to identify lessons learned that can be applied to
programs that may have similar requirements. The duration of the pilot
has also allowed for the seasonal work cycle during which H-2A and H-2B
visa holders typically enter and depart from the United States for
agricultural or other temporary employment.
Among the challenges that arose during the pilot were that the
persons subject to the pilot had trouble understanding the requirements
and using the kiosks; although the pilot was designed to be an
automated system, considerable time and resources by CBP field
personnel were needed to assist the pilot participants in recording
their exit; kiosk operability was unreliable and inconsistent due in
large part to the harsh desert climate; and, the physical layout of the
departure area at the border crossing limited CBP's ability to ensure
compliance. The pilot reinforced the need to gain a full understanding
of the covered population's skill sets in order to craft effective
public information materials and to utilize appropriate technology that
will support a high degree of compliance. For future programs, DHS will
seek to ensure that the physical requirements for software and hardware
reflect the extremes that can be faced in harsh border climates. The
pilot also demonstrated that DHS must evaluate carefully the
considerable time and resources that may be required by field personnel
in order to continually support and explain processes used infrequently
by a non-immigrant population subject to a program specific to that
population.
Accordingly, this notice announces that the H-2A and H-2B Temporary
Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot is being discontinued immediately. Any
alien that is admitted on an H-2A or H-2B visa into the United States
at the ports of San Luis, Arizona, and Douglas, Arizona, will no longer
be subject to the requirements of the program pilot. Aliens who have
already been admitted on an H-2A or H-2B visa to the United States at
the ports of San Luis, Arizona and Douglas, Arizona will not be
required to depart the United States from San Luis or Douglas and will
not have to submit the biographical or biometric information that was
required under the pilot program.
Regardless of their date or place of admission to the U.S., all H-2
workers are subject to the procedures governing H-2 nonimmigrants
generally. H-2 workers are issued a Form I-94, Arrival/Departure
Record, upon admission to the U.S. The form indicates the date of
admission to the United States, the nonimmigrant classification, and
the authorized period of admission. Once admitted to the United States,
H-2 workers are required to comply with all terms and conditions of
their admission and depart the United States on or before the
expiration of the authorized period of stay unless the worker properly
extends his or her status or changes his or her status and extends his
or her period of authorized admission. H-2 workers must surrender the
departure portion of the Form I-94 upon final exit from the United
States.
Dated: September 21, 2011.
Alan D. Bersin,
Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2011-24716 Filed 9-28-11; 8:45 am]
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