The company involved in a bus crash that killed six people on an Arkansas interstate had received approval from the federal government to bring foreign nationals to the U.S. to work in temporary agricultural jobs.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says it approved a petition from Juan Vasquez, doing business as Juan Vasquez Citrus, last year under its H-2A worker program. The program allows U.S. employers who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring in foreign nationals.
Employers must prove the jobs are seasonal and they don't have enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work. H-2A visa holders can stay in no more than three years.
Authorities have not yet released the names or nationalities of those killed in Friday's crash but said the Mexican Consulate was helping to contact relatives.
Arkansas authorities have identified the driver in an interstate bus crash that killed six people and injured six others.
Arkansas State Police say 28-year-old Roberto Vasquez of Monroe, Michigan, was behind the wheel of the bus when it crashed into a bridge abutment early Friday just outside Little Rock.
State police say Vasquez has agreed to be tested for drugs and alcohol as is routine in crash investigations, but Maj. Mike Foster says there's no indication he was intoxicated.
State police say the bus was owned by Vasquez Citrus and Hauling of Lake Placid, Florida. A woman who answered the phone at a number listed for the company hung up when reached by The Associated Press on Friday.
