The Department of Homeland Security is re-adding Haiti to the list of countries whose citizens are eligible to receive temporary work permits in the U.S. 

H2A and H2B visas allow foreign nationals to apply to come to the U.S. and work on a short-term basis. Haiti was removed from that list under the Trump administration. This week’s DHS announcement said Haitians would again be eligible — along with citizens from five other countries. 

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said adding the new countries would help ensure the U.S. could fill seasonal and temporary jobs when American workers are not available. 

Earlier this year, the Biden administration deported more than 2,000 Haitian migrants who had gathered along the Texas border to ask for asylum. Analysts say years of poverty, civil unrest and natural disasters in the country have driven more people to migrate.