Key Points
- USCIS has reached the H-2B cap for the second part of FY 2024
- USCIS has also announced filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas
- USCIS will still accept cap-exempt H-2B visa petitions
Overview
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2024. Additionally, USCIS announced filing dates by allocation for supplemental H-2B visas through the second half of FY 2024.
USCIS has announced that March 7, 2024, was the final receipt date for new H-2B cap-subject worker petitions seeking an employment start date on or after April 1, 2024, and no later than October 1, 2024. USCIS will reject cap-subject H-2B visa petitions received after March 7, 2024, requesting an employment start date during those times.
Although it is no longer accepting cap-subject H-2B petitions, USCIS will still accept cap-exempt H-2B petitions, including:
- Current H-2B workers in the US seeking to extend their stay and, if applicable, change employer or terms of employment
- Fish roe processors, technicians, and supervisors
- Workers performing labor or services in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands through December 31, 2029
Supplemental H-2B Visas Filing Dates
USCIS has also posted filing dates for H-2B supplemental visas for the second half of FY 2024. The supplemental visas are available through a temporary final rule published in November 2023 by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The rule increased the number of supplemental visas available in FY 2024 to 64,716. However, those visas are only available to US businesses suffering irreparable harm or will suffer harm if they cannot employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition. Supplementary visas are available for US employers looking to petition for additional H-2B workers during specific periods of FY 2024.
Filing start dates have been issued for the remaining supplemental H-2B visa allocations as follows:
- Employers seeking workers who are nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, regardless of whether such nationals are returning workers: On March 22, 2024, USCIS will begin accepting petitions for employers requesting an employment start date from April 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024. USCIS began accepting petitions from employers with employment start dates from October 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, in November 2023.
- Employers seeking returning workers for the early second half of FY 2024 (April 1 to May 14): On March 22, 2024, USCIS will begin accepting petitions for the additional 19,000 visas made available to returning workers regardless of country of nationality.
- Employers seeking to return workers for the late second half of FY 2024 (May 15 to September 30): On April 22, 2024, USCIS will begin accepting petitions for the additional 5,000 visas made available to returning workers regardless of country of nationality on April 22, 2024.
USCIS will accept petitions until September 16, 2024, or until the cap is reached, whichever comes first.
Written by: Lucy Halse, Content Marketing Associate, Envoy Global
Edited by: Frank Fogelbach, Managing Attorney, Corporate Immigration Partners
Source: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
