A lot of interest has been shown by members of the public to jump onto the opportunity to work in the United States after revelations on Fijivillage yesterday that Fiji is back on the list of eligible countries whose citizens can apply for seasonal work in the US.

Fiji was removed from the list of eligible countries following the events of December 2006 however it has been included in the newly revised list.

Since the revelation, Fijivillage has received numerous queries from members of the public and the US Embassy in Suva has also been inundated with calls on the matter.

The US Embassy is expected to make a statement soon on those who will be eligible to apply and how people can access the relevant documents to lodge their applications.

Under US laws, those on temporary guest worker visas can earn up to US$8 an hour for work in the agricultural sector which includes fruit picking, farming and other related agricultural activities and successful applicants would be able to work in the US for a maximum of three years.

Work in the non-agricultural sector includes work in hospitals, institutions primarily engaged in the care of the sick, aged, mentally ill, or disabled who reside on the premises, schools for children who are mentally or physically disabled, or gifted, preschools, elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education, and federal, state, and local government agencies.

However, we would like to stress that Fiji is only one of the 53 eligible nations whose citizens can apply and it will be up to the employers in the US to choose which country they want workers from.



Story by: Roneel Lal