United States | H-2B visa processing times as of July 14

Applications for requested need date for second half of fiscal year (FY) 2026 visa cap (April 1–Sept. 30, 2026): The Department of Labor (DOL) reported that, as of July 14, a total of 10,335 cases were issued final decisions. Certified positions for this period were allocated for 143,235 workers.

H-2B prevailing wage determination (PWD) processing times as of June 30:

As of June 30, the National Prevailing Wage Center is processing PWD requests filed in June 2026 and earlier for H-2B 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. OEWS stands for Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. 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 Withdrawn and voided requests are excluded from the total, which may cause the numbers for previous months to fluctuate.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 July 8, the OFLC published the assignment groups for 2,625 H-2B applications covering 51,158 worker positions with a work start date of Oct. 1, 2026, received during the July 3–5 filing window. Employers were provided with written notice about their assignment groups on July 6.

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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