Balmore holds his visa prior to boarding the plane that will take him to work temporary and legally in the United States.

Lawful Labor Pathways

USAID recognizes the opportunity lawful labor pathways can provide for qualified workers across Latin America, as well as for employers in countries around the world.

Temporary labor pathways can safely and legally connect workers with employers unable to meet their labor demands with available local workforce. USAID is working with other U.S. government departments and agencies, as well as international organizations, workers’ organizations, and civil society to increase access to these pathways and ensure worker rights are respected and protected at all stages of the process.

Employers and private sector representatives play a key role in the success of these lawful pathways, ensuring workers are well-placed, protected, and given the opportunity to build their skills and earn income while helping businesses thrive.

Development Benefits of Pathways

Temporary labor pathways have powerful development benefits for workers and their home communities; data from Guatemala shows that families of regular migrants have lower levels of poverty and food insecurity. With regular migration, more frequent and larger remittances are channeled into investments that improve quality of life, generating income and development in the migrants’ communities of origin over the long term. The skills and income from these temporary jobs can transform the lives of workers and their communities.

For example, USAID found that the hiring of 7,000 Salvadoran H-2 workers in FY 2023 directly or indirectly benefited at least 35,000 individuals. According to survey data, Salvadorans who participated in the temporary labor program 30% invested their income in housing, 12% in entrepreneurship,17% in debt relief, 13% in savings, and 6% in education. Meanwhile in Guatemala, surveys showed that families of regular migrants used remittances received from family-members participating in temporary labor programs abroad to invest in home improvements, purchase land and equipment for agriculture, and to start or expand micro-enterprises.

USAID is supporting workers and their families’ ability to make smart financial decisions, open and build businesses, and improve lives in their communities.

USAID Support in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

USAID provides ongoing technical assistance to the national ministries in northern Central America to ethically recruit, vet, and support their citizens’ access to temporary work abroad opportunities. In three years, we have tripled the number of Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and Hondurans able to work legally in the United States on H-2 temporary visas.

Employers can count on strong collaboration with USAID staff and contractors when reaching out to the government agencies (or “Ministries”) administering the process. The Ministries work to identify workers with prior experience for the positions requested and have databases with over 20,000 qualified, pre-vetted workers. USAID and the Ministries also work closely with the U.S. Embassies’ Consular Sections to help ensure H-2 visa applicants receive visas in a timely manner and are able to quickly travel to their job sites.

Information for H-2 Employers:

Learn more about our programming in northern Central America:

  • Achieving Dreams Abroad blog on Bryan Cárcamo, a young Honduran man’s experience of economic empowerment
  • Voyage of Opportunities blog and video on Balmore Palacios, a Salvadoran fisherman, father, and husband’s journey with the H-2 program (El Salvador)
  • Video with H-2A Agricultural Workers and Employers (El Salvador)
  • Administrator Power Video on Guatemalan Workers’ Economic Empowerment
  • Impact of Regular Temporary Migration to Canada and the U.S. on families and communities in Guatemala: Report and Infographic