Foreign nationals who want to work in America as temporary non-agricultural workers will have to wait a little longer. The number of visas that can be issued to temporary non-agricultural workers has reached the maximum limit set by the United States.
In order for you as a nonimmigrant to legally enter and work temporarily in the United States, your prospective employer must typically file a nonimmigrant petition with USCIS on your behalf.
USCIS has received enough petitions to meet the Congressionally mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers in the first half of fiscal year 2025.
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September 18 was the last day to receive new salary cap petitions for H-2B workers requesting a start date before April 1, 2025. USCIS will deny new salary cap petitions for H-2B workers received after September 18 requesting a start date before April 1, 2025.
September 18 was the “last day of receipt” for new applications from H-2B workers subject to the salary cap who wish to begin work before April 1, 2025. The “last day of receipt” is the date on which we determine that we have received enough applications subject to the salary cap to meet the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of fiscal year 2025.
However, USCIS will continue to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressional cap, such as those from H-2B workers currently residing in the United States who are extending their stay, changing employers, or changing their terms of employment.
Similarly, H-2B workers who have previously been counted against the cap in the same tax year in which the proposed employment begins will not be subject to the cap if the employer names them on the application and indicates that they have already been counted. Spouses and children of H-2B workers who are classified as H-4 nonimmigrants will also not be counted against this cap.
U.S. companies use the H-2B program to hire foreign workers for temporary non-agricultural work. Currently, Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 workers employed in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1 to March 31) and 33,000 (plus any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year) employed in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 to September 30).
Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be available to employers seeking to hire H-2B workers in the second half of the fiscal year. Unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year will not carry over to the next fiscal year.
H-2B applicants must also submit a single valid temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
