Is H-2B the Right Visa?

BlackWyld
New Member



Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Posts: 1
Location: Alberta

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:01 pm

 

---

Hello all.

I am from Alberta, Canada and was recently accepted for an internship in Arizona.

It is at the Epona Center, which is situated on a ranch. They do workshops from horsemanship to self-empowerment and leadership and provide services such as Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy.

It is a working internship, I will be mostly dealing with the animals at the ranch, feeding, grooming, etc.
Lodging and most meals are provided by the center and I will be payed a weekly stipend of around $100.
They are hoping for me to be able to come out there for the spring.

Both the Center and I are new to bringing in workers from outside of the US.

I contacted my local US embassy and they said I should qualify for the H-2B visa.

I just wanted to know if this is the right visa or are there other possibilities and what is the best way to go about starting the process from my end and my employer's end.

Any info or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

---

Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1589
Location: Calgary

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 9:45 am

 

---

H-2B is probably the right category but it's not a simple thing for your employer to get because it's designed as a category for people to fill certain jobs temporarily, which means they have to prove they can't find anyone locally, which is a substantial undertaking.

As they're new to this they're not registered with the State Dept. so that rules out any kind of student entry.

If it's full-time and you're paid, that blows B-2 out of the water as well. If you could make it part-time and no money and it's less than six months, part-time courses of study allow you to enter as a regular B-2 visitor.

You might be able to make it fit under H-2A which is better than H-2B as there is no quota for H-2A, but any type of H entry entails serious paperwork.
_________________
Steve.

---