VisaGuam employers must register arriving H-2B workers within 24 hours
Guam’s current instructions set a local registration deadline after arrival, separate from labour certification, the federal petition and the worker’s visa.
Official source date: 2026-11-02
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Plan the local filing before workers arrive
Guam employers bringing in H-2B workers must register them with the Alien Labor Processing and Certification Division within 24 hours of physical arrival, excluding weekends and holidays. The division’s registration instructions, revised on 29 September 2025, require the application and supporting records to be submitted in person. This is a current-rule guide checked on 2 November 2026, not an announcement of a new deadline.
The registration form must be double-sided and carry original employer and worker signatures. For a new arrival, the instructions list passport and visa records showing admission, the signed approved employment contract, the USCIS approval notice and the electronic I-94. The English contract needs a translation if the worker cannot read English. Employers should prepare this file before arrival.
Complete the immigration stages in the right order
Guam’s H-2B programme booklet explains that the local labour certification precedes the employer’s federal Form I-129 petition to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa processing follows petition approval, and local registration follows arrival. These are separate decisions and filings. An employer cannot treat the Guam certification as if it were the worker’s visa or the final local identification card.
The booklet also describes recruitment of US workers before filing and the subsequent local labour-market test. It says the application is not officially received until the division assigns a case number to begin testing. In its ordinary process, the Guam Employment Service job order runs for 30 days, with a separate approved newspaper advertisement. Employers should use the booklet and the division’s current forms to establish which process applies to their project; they should not adopt mainland filing steps without checking Guam’s distinct certification arrangements.
Do not confuse cap relief with unrestricted eligibility
The US Code provides a special numerical-cap rule for qualifying H-category employment on Guam and in the Northern Mariana Islands during the transition period ending on 31 December 2029. It separately provides a temporary-need exception for certain H-2B work linked to military realignment and for specified healthcare employment, subject to the statutory conditions. These provisions are not a blanket immigration exemption for anyone offered a job on Guam.
The distinction is practical for both civilian and military-linked employers. A claimed exception must correspond to the actual project or employment category and the evidence supporting it. The statutory relief does not apply to work performed somewhere other than Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands. Readers should use section 1806 of title 48 to identify the legal scope, and the division’s project-specific forms to address the evidence required; the 2029 date should not be read as an individual worker’s automatically authorised stay.
Check wages, assurances and local charges separately
The division’s 2026 sample Statement of Assurances and Guarantee requires the employer to promise pay of at least the prevailing wage established when the labour-certification application is submitted. It also addresses comparable benefits and conditions for similarly employed US and foreign workers, continued recruitment of US workers, and lawful housing where the employer provides it. The sample is a resource for reviewing the employer’s commitments, rather than simply an attachment to sign without checking.
The division’s resource page now links to construction wage material effective 24 August 2026, alongside older schedules. Employers should select the applicable determination and effective date rather than copy a historic rate from a previous contract. Local registration and federal visa charges are separate. The registration instructions state a US$2,091 annual charge, potentially prorated, payable by cashier’s cheque or money order to the Treasurer of Guam. Employers should confirm any applicable exemption with the division before payment.
Prepare the worker for the visa decision
The State Department’s temporary-worker visa resource tells applicants to complete the DS-160 after the employer’s petition is approved and follow the relevant embassy or consulate’s appointment instructions. Its document list includes the passport, confirmation page, applicable payment receipt, photograph and petition receipt number. It lists a US$205 visa application charge, with a possible additional nationality-based issuance fee.
Petition approval does not guarantee a visa, and a visa does not guarantee admission. The worker should check the authorised stay recorded at entry rather than rely on the visa’s printed expiry date. Appointment availability and any further processing can affect travel plans, so an employer’s proposed start date is not a guaranteed arrival date.
