Guam Proposes New Wage Rates for the H-2B Temporary Worker Program

March 25, 2011POEA MARKET UPDATE NO. 10-11GUAM PROPOSES NEW WAGE RATES FOR THE H-2B TEMPORARY WORKER PROGRAMThe U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking comments from the public on the proposal of the Governor of Guam on the prevailing wage rates for construction workers in Guam under the H-2B temporary worker program. The H-2B visa program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the U.S. to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs, provided there are no qualified U.S. workers available to fill the positions and that hiring such foreign national will not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of U.S. workers.The table below provides the current and proposed prevailing wage rates for construction occupations on Guam, as provided by the Guam Department of Labor to USCIS on January 10, 2010. The currently approved construction wage rates, which were based on 2007/2008 U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, will remain in effect until any new prevailing wage rates are approved by USCIS. cDHAES OccupationsCurrent Approved Hourly Wage RateProposed Hourly Wage RateBricklayer$14.02$14.12Camp...