Sorry, you guys are wrong. Anyone with “specialized skills” can use the H2B visa. See the India Times below.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/3451866.cms
WASHINGTON: Driving home the point that he is for creating jobs in the US, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama has favoured streamlining the process for the high-skilled H2B visas for Indians and other foreigners to make sure that employers were not “gaming” the system.
“For those who don’t know, the H2B visa programme is the programme whereby people with specialised skills, foreign nationals with specialised skills, are supposed to be able to come in and be sponsored by their employer. That’s the idea,” he said at a campaign event in Duryea, Pennsylvania yesterday.
The H-1B is used for high-tech workers to come to the USA to supplement IT staff, as well as other "highly skilled" work.
The H-2B visa, according to this article, is the H-1B "cousin" for seasonal workers, those not here for several-year business project stints, but for summer work at amusement parks, or winter work at ski resorts.
I presume this means that they want the Australians and Nordics to go to Vail, Aspen, Tahoe, etc., to be the "snow bunnies" for the rich and famous to play with during winter ski retreats.
-PJ