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The Department of Homeland Security has announced which countries’ nationals can come to the United States via the H-2B visa program in the next year.

The updated list was published Thursday in the Federal Register and remains in effect for one year. The Homeland Security secretary, in consultation with the secretary of state, identified 87 countries for which nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2B program for the coming year.

The Kingdom of Eswatini, Mongolia and the Philippines were to the list of countries eligible for the H-2B visa program, and no countries were cut from the list in the latest iteration. 

The program allows US employers to bring foreign nationals into the country to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services draws for the listing of designated countries.

The notice doesn’t affect the status of workers currently employed under H-2B nonimmigrant status unless they seek an extension of their visa.

Long-term care advocates continue to push for immigration reform as a means of addressing workforce shortages; as recently as last month, Argentum, the American Seniors Housing Association and LeadingAge in October sent letters about it to Capitol Hill and the House 21st Century Long-Term Care Caucus.

A recent research brief from the Brookings Institution also proposed immigration reform as a way to help the growing number of Americans who want to age in place.

Homeland Security also released an updated country list for the H-2A list, which pertains to agricultural jobs.