Secretary Napolitano Designates 11 New Countries as Eligible for H-2a and H-2b Nonimmigrant Visa Programs

Office of the Press Secretary announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has recently designated 11 new countries as eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B. These nonimmigrant visa programs allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary or seasonal jobs for which U.S. workers are not available.

After consulting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary Napolitano determined that the 11 newly designated countries—Croatia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia and Uruguay— meet the standards required for participation in the programs. The 11 newly designated countries join 28 countries that are already part of the program.

A worker from a country that is not part of the H-2A or H-2B Program may be deemed eligible by the Department of Homeland Security on a case-by case review.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1264197311110.shtm

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Government clears 200 Haitian children for humanitarian visas

The Miami Herald is reporting that due to the efforts of Miami Doctor Barth Green and Florida Senator Bill Nelson, 200 injured Haitian children will travel to Florida on humanitarian visas for life-saving medical treatment. Prior to these efforts, only Haitian children who were in the process of being adopted by American parents before the January 12 earthquake were granted visas.

Young earthquake victims are being granted humanitarian visas on the condition that a doctor in Haiti deems that the child will die if not given advanced medical care.

Many of the children being transported under this program have treatable injuries within the capacity of the United States to fix.  However, these young earthquake victims would likely die with the lack of adequate equipment and specialized care in Haiti.

In the past, the United States has had a system in place for taking sick or injured children from other countries on a case-by-case basis. But that system required a time consuming process full of documentation that is now lost due to the earthquake. Thirteen children's hospitals in Florida will be treating the youngest victims of the deadly earthquake that hit Haiti in early January.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1438810.html

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White House to discuss immigration with Cuba

Reuters reports that Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, announced that Cuban and U.S. negotiators will meet in February for a second round of talks, to discuss migration issues. The discussions will cover agreements from the mid-1990s aimed at preventing an exodus of Cuban refugees. In the mid-1990s it was decided that the United States would repatriate Cuban migrants intercepted at sea, while Cuba would address unauthorized migration to the United States.

It is believed that during the talks in February, the United States will seek access to a deep-water port in order to safely repatriate those Cuban citizens intercepted at sea. On the other hand, Cuba will call for the U.S to abandon its immigration policy that gives protected status to Cubans who reach U.S. land.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/01/27/us/politics/politics-us-cuba-usa-migration.html

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