On January 17, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014. In this act, a provision was included that would permit staggered entry of H-2B workers employed by those in the seafood industry under certain conditions. After the passage of the Continuity Appropriations Resolution, the provision would expire on December 11, 2014 and no staggered entry of H-2B workers after that date will be permitted without further legislative extensions.
To use the staggered crossing provision established in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, an employer must download, complete and sign an official attestation, and provide it to the H-2B worker for presentation, when requested, to the Department of State’s Consular Officers or Customs and Border Protection officers.