Now, in 2024, the industry is booming<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Despite the adversity the industry has faced in recent years, the National Restaurant Association projects that restaurants Americans will generate more than $ 1 trillion in sales this year<\/a> , the first time in the industry's history. The Association also expects restaurants nationwide to add nearly a quarter of a million jobs, for a total of 15.7 million, in 2024. After a difficult few years, most restaurants have been able to dust themselves off and get back in the saddle.<\/p>\n Most restaurants are operating at pre-pandemic levels and accommodating more customers. Because of this, almost half of restaurateurs require more employees to accommodate more customers<\/a>. Furthermore, About half of restaurant operators believe that competition will be fiercer in 2024 than in 2023<\/a>, which means the service must be top-notch to secure a winning place in customers' hearts.<\/p>\n If you are a restaurant owner, chances are your business has job openings. If you are struggling to find new employees, don't worry. Hiring employees through the H-2B visa is an excellent way to fill temporary positions, secure reliable labor, and boost employee morale.<\/p>\n The H-2B Visa<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The H-2B visa is a temporary nonimmigrant visa designed for employers to hire foreign nationals to fill short-term positions. <\/strong>\u00a0U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) defines a \u201ctemporary position\u201d as one that falls into the following four categories:<\/p>\n Common industries that use H-2B visas to fill temporary positions include landscaping, gardening, construction, meat and fish processing, recreation, hospitality, and restaurants. <\/a>In fact, in fiscal year 2021, More than 10,000 H-2B visas were approved for occupations related to food preparation and service.<\/a>, which represents 7.6 percent of the total H-2B visas issued that fiscal year.<\/strong><\/p>\n The petition process<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The H-2B visa requires you, as an employer, to petition for a foreign national, which means you will have to complete several forms and pay the foreign national's filing fees.<\/strong>. However, it is important to keep in mind that submitting a petition for a foreign national is not as simple as just completing some paperwork once you have found the right option for your business. Hiring a worker through the H-2B process is a multi-step process:<\/p>\n Step 1:<\/strong> You have determined that there is a temporary position that needs to be filled in your company and that your company would benefit from hiring a foreign national through an H-2B visa. The first step in this process is to obtain Certification of Temporary Work<\/strong>, which is a multi-step process in itself:<\/p>\n Step two: Once the DOL issues you a Temporary Labor Certification, you can begin recruiting foreign workers. <\/strong>One of the easiest ways to do this is by using a foreign staffing agency. These companies are already in contact with foreign nationals who are interested in applying for the H-2B visa. You will provide the agencies with the job duties, salary, and terms of employment so that interested applicants understand the essence of what they are applying for. Once you find the right option for your company, you can file Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) with USCIS. <\/strong><\/p>\n Step three: <\/strong>This step will differ depending on whether the foreign national you are hiring is inside or outside the U.S. at the time Form I-129 is filed. If the beneficiary is legally in the U.S., You can request to change the beneficiary's status to an H-2B worker when filing Form I-129<\/a>. Once this is approved, the beneficiary can begin working for you. If the beneficiary is outside the U.S. when you file Form I-129, they can apply for the H-2B visa with the U.S. Department of State at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their home country. The foreign national attends a visa interview. Once the beneficiary receives the visa, they can apply for admission with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at a port of entry. Then, the foreign national can begin working in your business. Ultimately, it takes between two and four months<\/a> in obtaining the H-2B visa.<\/p>\n After hiring a foreign citizen, he or she will work in your company for the time you have established in your Temporary Labor Certification, which is one year or less. However, after this time passes, you can request a one-year extension if you can demonstrate that there is a need for the foreign national to continue working in your business. In total, a foreign citizen can work in the U.S. with the H-2B visa for up to three years.<\/p>\n Pros and cons of the H-2B visa for the restaurant industry<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Now that we have covered the basics of what the H-2B visa is and how the petition process works, Let's analyze the pros and cons of this visa in the restaurant industry sector.<\/strong><\/p>\n Pros<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n First, the H-2B visa does not require the foreign national to have experience in a specific field, so you can hire new employees for entry-level positions in the front and back of the house.<\/strong>, such as servers, hosts, dishwashers, cooks, food preparers, and bussers. Because this visa does not require any experience, it can also open up the pool of people interested in applying for restaurant jobs, giving you more opportunities to look for the right fit for your business.<\/p>\n Another important advantage of this visa is that you will have reliable labor for a specific period of time. <\/strong>The temporary labor certification establishes how long the foreign worker must work for your company. Because restaurants generally have a high turnover rate, knowing that an H-2B visa employee will work for you for a specific period of time adds stability and reduces the risk of having to hire a new employee to replace another employee who has quit without notice.\u00a0 The possibility of extending a foreign citizen's H-2B visa is also an important benefit. <\/strong>By extending a foreign citizen's visa, you can eliminate having to restart the search for another H-2B worker. The H-2B visa can be extended for a total of three years, and although the foreign citizen must return to their home country for three months after the visa expires, you can apply for the H-2B visa for them again after this period is complete.<\/p>\n H-2B worker recruitment reduces the workload of your permanent workers. <\/strong>Having additional employees during your company's busy months can help distribute tasks more evenly, which can help prevent your permanent employees from feeling stressed and overworked. Reducing workplace stress, especially during the busiest months, can help your company retain more permanent employees. If your permanent employees know they will work a manageable number of hours during peak seasons, they are more likely to continue working for your company and have better morale while doing so<\/strong> They do it.<\/strong><\/p>\n As we mentioned earlier in this article, hiring a foreign citizen through the H-2B visa is not as simple as finding the right option for your business and putting them on the schedule. Hiring a foreign citizen through the H-2B visa is a long and complicated process. Some may find the process overwhelming and would prefer to opt for hiring a U.S. worker from the start.<\/p>\n For some restaurant owners, a potential disadvantage of the H-2B visa is having to pay the visa-related expenses of a foreign citizen<\/strong>. When filing a petition for a foreign citizen, you must pay the filing fee of $460 for Form I-129.<\/a> In addition to that, you will have to pay for the foreign travel expenses to and from the United States<\/a>, which for many foreign citizens includes expensive plane tickets. These fees could negatively affect small businesses interested in hiring H-2B workers.<\/p>\n Another potential downside for restaurant owners is the H-2B visa cap<\/strong>. Because many US companies need temporary employees, the H-2B visa is highly sought after. Generally, only 66,000 visas are available each fiscal year<\/strong>, with 33,000 visas available from October 1 to March 31, and the remaining 33,000 visas available from April 1 to September 30. Once the 66,000 cap is reached, USCIS only accepts petitions for H-2B cap-exempt workers. These workers include those who want to extend their H-2B visa, change employers, or change the conditions of their employment. Just to give an idea of how coveted the H-2B visa is, in November 2023, the Department of Homeland Security and the DOL they added 64,716 additional visas<\/a> for fiscal year 2024, but 45,000 of these visas were made available for returning workers, and the remaining visas were dedicated to workers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.<\/p>\n Because there is a lot of competition in obtaining H-2B visas, it can add extra pressure on employers to find the right temporary employee for the business within a specific timeframe<\/strong>. Harris Beach, PLLC <\/a>explain that \u201can employer must be informed that the \u00a0<\/em>The shortest time in which H-2B procedures can be completed would be within 150 days, but ideally the employer should budget 30 to 60 additional days on top of that, or 180 to 210 days, or 6 to 7 months, to begin preparing the first steps of an H-2B filing.<\/p>\n Because hiring temporary workers with the H-2B visa can be such a complicated process, there are some pitfalls you may face as an employer.<\/strong><\/p>\n For example, you might fail to follow all the required stipulations when trying to recruit US workers. Or, you might obtain incorrect information when completing Form ETA 9142B. Perhaps you will make a mistake in the timeline when trying to hire foreign citizens for a vacant position, or perhaps you will not be able to hire a foreigner at all due to the H-2B visa cap.<\/p>\n It is easy to see how some things can go wrong when it comes to hiring a worker through the H-2B visa.<\/p>\n Having a trusted business immigration lawyer by your side, such as Eagan\u2019s lead business immigration attorney Hannah Whaley, can help streamline the process of hiring foreign workers and ensure that you are submitting all the documentation you need. Attorney Whaley will be able to assist you with recruitment efforts and USCIS form filings, while also ensuring that you follow a strategic timeline that works best for your business.<\/p>\n The National Restaurant Association publishes the 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, <\/em>The National Restaurant Association (January 26, 2021), The National Restaurant Association publishes the 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report | National Restaurant Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry, <\/em>National Restaurant Association, (March 2, 2023), 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry | National Restaurant Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n State of the Restaurant Industry in 2024 | National Restaurant Association<\/a><\/p>\n Fact Sheet: H-2B Visas<\/em>, National Immigration Forum, (July 25, 2018), Fact Sheet: H-2B Visas \u2013 National Immigration Forum<\/a>, (last accessed: April 1, 2024).<\/p>\n Daniel Costa, As the H-2B visa program expands, the need for reforms that protect workers is greater than ever, <\/em>Economic Policy Institute, p. 14, (August 18, 2022), As the H-2B visa program grows, the need for reforms that protect workers is greater than ever: Employers have stolen $1.8 billion from workers in the industries that have employed the majority of H-2B workers over the past two decades | Economic Policy Institute (epi.org).<\/a><\/p>\n Ilona Bray, J.D., Requirements, Fees, and Application Process for the H-2B Work Visa, <\/em>AllLaw, H-2B Work Visa Requirements, Fees, and Application Process | AllLaw<\/a>, (last accessed: April 1, 2024).<\/p>\n H-2B Visa: Frequently Asked Questions<\/em>, VisaPro, What is the H-2B visa, processing time and more (visapro.com),<\/a> (last visited: April 1, 2024).<\/p>\n Form-I 129, Explained, Unlimited <\/em>, Form I-129, Explained \u2013 Unlimited<\/a>, (last accessed: April 1, 2024).<\/p>\n H-2B Employer Obligations<\/em>, Herman Legal Group, Everything you need to know about the H-2B program rules \u2013 Herman Legal Group (lawfirm4immigrants.com)<\/a>, (last accessed: April 1, 2024).<\/p>\n H-2B Nonimmigrant Visa Cap Count, <\/em>USCIS, (March 8, 2024), H-2B Nonimmigrant Cap Count | USCIS,<\/a> (last visited March 28, 2024).<\/p>\n Temporary increase of H-2B nonimmigrant visas for fiscal year 2024, <\/em>USCIS, (March 13, 2024), Temporary increase of H-2B nonimmigrant visas for fiscal year 2024 | USCIS<\/a>, (last accessed: April 1, 2024).<\/p>\n\n
\n
![\"pasos](\"https:\/\/eaganimmigration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Blog-Steps-Spanish.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eaganimmigration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Blog-Pros-and-Cons-Spanish.png\")
<\/p>\nCons<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Should I Use a Business Immigration Lawyer?<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n
References<\/u><\/h4>\n