CGD Work with Employers
The Center for Global Development (CGD) is an independent non-profit research institution in Washington, DC funded by private philanthropic foundations. After Haiti’s earthquake in 2010, CGD successfully pressured the U.S. government to change its immigration policy and open the H-2 program—America’s largest temporary work visa—to Haitians. (They were previously ineligible.) CGD views this as a means of complementing post-disaster recovery in Haiti by creating new economic opportunity for Haitians.
This policy change opens a large new market for seasonal worker recruitment, simultaneously creating a new chance for Haitian families to provide for their families and rebuild their local economy.
If just 1,000–1,500 Haitians worked in the US on H-2 visas for 5 years, this would produce roughly $100 million in new income directly to those workers and their families.
Unlike foreign aid, income earned through employment goes directly into the pockets of Haitian workers and their families, and would carry no fiscal cost to the United States. Indeed, H-2 jobs generate additional revenue to the US government by making US firms more productive. U.S. employers must also demonstrate that they are unable to find American workers to fill H-2 jobs. (To learn more about the economic benefits migration could bring to Haiti click here).
While the origin of this policy change has a development objective, it has simultaneously created a large business opportunity. Haiti’s population of 10 million is young, eager to work hard, and close to the United States. Recruiting for seasonal labor in the U.S. has been profitably carried out in Mexico and Jamaica for decades. Haiti is an untouched market for low-skill seasonal labor recruitment, ready for pioneering recruiters to seize first-mover advantage.
CGD seeks to catalyze interactions between U.S. employers, reputable private recruiting firms, and the Government of Haiti to ensure that Haiti benefits from its new access to the H-2 visa. CGD’s current focus is twofold:
1. Conducting outreach to U.S. employers and recruiters: In order for Haitians to use the H-2A and H-2B visas, employers must specifically recruit them. CGD is making U.S. employers aware of this opportunity by reaching out to agricultural grower and hospitality industry associations.
2. Working with Partners in Haiti to Facilitate Access: U.S. employers often use agents to recruit laborers in Haiti. CGD is facilitating a partnership between the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Government of Haiti and local recruiters to ensure that this process is safe and fair.
CGD seeks to provide accurate information to employers about the H2-A/H2-B process. To that end, CGD composed an information packet on the visa to provide an introduction to employers:
French and Haitian language versions also available:
- Guide pratique H-2
- Fiche d’Informations sur le Visa H-2A (agricole)
- Fiche d’Informations sur le Visa H-2B (non agricole)
- Ressources Destinées aux Employeurs Américains
- Le Rôle du CGD
