United States | Cap for returning worker H-2B visas reached for first half of fiscal year

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday it has received enough petitions to reach a cap on H-2B visas for returning workers with start dates in the first half of the 2024 fiscal year.

Key Points:

• In November, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor published a regulation to provide 64,716 additional H-2B visas this fiscal year. This supplemental allocation included 20,716 visas for returning workers with start dates in the first half of the fiscal year (Oct. 1 to March 31).
• USCIS said Friday it has received enough petitions to reach 20,716 visas. Petitions with receipt dates on or after Jan. 10 will not be considered under this cap.
• The agency continues to accept country-specific petitions for H-2B workers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras. As of Jan. 12, USCIS had received petitions requesting 4,500 workers for 20,000 country-specific visas available this fiscal year.

BAL Analysis: News that the returning worker cap for the first half of the fiscal year has been reached is a further sign of the popularity of the H-2B program. Despite high demand, however, employers with workforce needs in both the first and second half of the fiscal year still have options. For more information, contact BAL or visit BAL’s temporary workforce solutions page here.

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

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