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

The Department of Labor (DOL) reported that as of March 18, a total of 5,910 cases were issued Final Decisions. Certified positions for this period were allocated for 110,641 workers.

The chart below indicates the number of Final Decisions issued and Positions Certified for filing windows from July 2024 to February 2025:

*Indicates a change in the numbers previously reported by DOL for the month of the indicated filing window.

**As of COB March 18, there were no Final Decisions issued or Positions Certified, although there was a slight increase in both cases submitted and positions requested (five cases were submitted and the number of workers for positions requested was 81).

As of Jan. 7, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received enough petitions to reach the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of FY 2025 with start dates on or before March 31, 2025.

Update on applications received for requested date of need from April 1, 2025 (FY 2025 second half of the visa cap):

As of March 18, a total of 4,181 cases were issued Final Decisions. Certified positions for this period were allocated for 59,747 workers.

DOL completed processing of the following groups who filed between Jan. 1-3:

• Group A (1,943*** cases were issued a Final Decision with Positions Certified for 27,101*** workers)
• Group B (1,032*** cases were issued a Final Decision with Positions Certified for 14,387*** workers)
• Group C (835 cases were issued a Final Decision with Positions Certified for 12,847 workers)
• Group D (371 cases were issued a Final Decision with Positions Certified for 5,412 workers).

DOL is still processing Groups E, F and G who filed between Jan. 1-3.

***Indicates a change in the numbers previously reported by DOL for this group.

Background on Assignment Groups: The initial H-2B Assignment Group (i.e., Group A) will always include the number of H-2B applications containing a sufficient amount of worker positions to reach the applicable numerical visa cap, even if the numerical limits of the Immigration and Nationality Act are subsequently changed. Additional Assignment Groups are assigned in ascending sequential order for all remaining H-2B applications that were filed during the initial three-day filing window that requested the earliest start date of work permitted. Each H-2B Assignment Group after Group A (e.g., Group B, Group C, etc.) will total no more than 20,000 worker positions, or roughly 1,000 applications per group. More background on H-2B Temporary Labor Certification Program and the origin of Assignment Groups can be found here.

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

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