The United States has imposed a one-year ban on temporary work visas for Filipinos seeking jobs, citing “severe” overstaying and human trafficking concerns.
The ban, in effect from Jan. 19, 2019 to Jan. 18, 2020, covers H-2A visas for agricultural workers and H-2B visas for non-agricultural workers.
“Nearly 40 percent of H-2B visa holders from the Philippines overstayed their period of authorized stay,” the US Federal Register said in a statement, citing 2017 data.
The ban is in effect from Jan. 19, 2019 to Jan. 18, 2020.
In its advisory published in the Federal Register, the US Department of Homeland Security said the US Embassy in Manila issued the “greatest number of T-derivative visas (T-2, T-3, T-4, T-5, T-6), which are reserved for certain family members of principal T-1 nonimmigrants [certain victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons].”
“US Embassy Manila issued approximately 40 percent of the total T-derivative visas issued worldwide from FY 2014-2016,” it said.
“A recent review of certain T-1 status recipients, whose spouses were issued T-2 visas during this same period, shows that approximately 60 percent were determined to have been trafficked to the United States on H-2B visas,” the DHS said.
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