The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the H-2B cap for temporary non-farm workers has been reached for the first half of fiscal year 2025.
In a statement, USCIS said September 18 is the last date to receive H-2B applications for the first half of 2025, VisaGuide.World reports.
September 18 was the last day to receive new salary capped petitions for H-2B workers requesting a start date before April 1, 2025. We will deny any new salary capped petitions for H-2B workers received after September 18 requesting a start date before April 1, 2025.
Petitions exempt from the H-2B cap will continue to be accepted
Although the H-2B visa cap has been reached, the agency said it will continue to accept applications that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. These include:
- H-2B workers in the United States who change employers, extend their stay, or change their terms of employment.
- Fish roe processors, fish roe processing supervisors and fish roe technicians
- The employees offered their services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam from November 28, 2009, to December 31, 2029.
The US H-2B visa program aims to bring temporary workers from non-agricultural sectors to the US. The visa allows workers from other countries to work temporarily in the US for a specified period of time. This is part of the US government’s efforts to fill the labor shortage.
USCIS has allocated an additional 64,716 visas for fiscal year 2024
In November 2023, USCIS announced that it would make available a total of 64,716 temporary non-agricultural visas for fiscal year 2024, in addition to a cap of 66,000.
In a statement, the agency said the new changes would benefit temporary workers in certain sectors, such as hospitality, tourism, seafood processing and landscaping.
The interim final rule also supports the Biden administration’s promise under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection to expand legal pathways as an alternative to irregular migration.
USCIS said the new changes are aimed at helping U.S. companies find international workers to address labor shortages.
The agency said at the time that of the total allocation, 20,000 visas were intended for workers in countries such as Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras.
At the same time, 44,716 supplemental visas will be made available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa or H-2B status in any of the past three fiscal years.
