United States | H-2B visa processing times as of August 18

Applications for requested need date for second half of fiscal year (FY) 2026 visa cap (Jan. 1–Sept. 30, 2026): The Department of Labor (DOL) reported that, as of Aug. 18, 2026, a total of 10,463 cases were issued final decisions. Certified positions for this period were allocated for 143,836 workers.

H-2B prevailing wage determination (PWD) processing times were last updated June 30: As of June 30, 2026, the National Prevailing Wage Center is processing PWD requests filed in June 2026 and earlier for H-2B Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) cases and May 2026 for Non-OEWS cases. OEWS and Non-OEWS are the sources used for determining the prevailing wage for a job. Non-OEWS refers to other sources used for prevailing wage determinations, such as collective bargaining agreements or private wage surveys.

DOL has almost completed the processing of remaining requests for H-2B visa PWD applications from April. The number of remaining requests for H-2B visa PWD applications received in May 2026 was 44 and in June 2026 was 1,526.

DOL guidance on H-2B processing times: These dates reflect the month and year in which applications were filed (request date) or submission date of the appeal request for redeterminations or center director review. The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) encourages employers to request a PWD for the H-2B program at least 60 days before the date the determination is needed.

OFLC may be completing the processing of applications filed prior to the month posted for various reasons. Withdrawn and voided requests are excluded from the total, which may cause the numbers for previous months to fluctuate.

Additional information: On Aug. 14, 2026, OFLC released a comprehensive set of public disclosure data including all final determinations the OFLC issued for the H-2B program and other employer-sponsored visa programs during the Oct. 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, reporting period of fiscal year 2026 including: PERM, LCA (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3), H-2A, CW-1 and Prevailing Wage programs.

Learn more about the BAL attorneys who help employers secure additional H-2B visas.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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