Key Points
- USCIS will start accepting H-2B petitions for returning workers on April 13, 2023
- Petitions will be accepted for workers seeking employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to September 30, 2023
- USCIS will accept petitions for workers granted an H-2B visa in the past three fiscal years
- Anyone seeking a supplemental allocation under the temporary final rule must file their petition at the California Service Center
Overview
Starting April 13, 2023, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting petitions for H-2B workers seeking employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to September 30, 2023.
USCIS issued this notice under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule published on December 15, 2022, by the Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The interim final rule increased the H-2B nonimmigrant visa cap by 64,716 additional visas for FY 2023. Of that total, 44,716 are reserved for returning workers who received an H-2B visa or were granted H-2B status in fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022. These additional visas are available only to US businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable damage without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition, as attested by the employer on a new attestation form. The other 20,000 visas are reserved for nationals from the Northern Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras, who are exempt from the returning worker requirement.
Looking Ahead
Individuals seeking a supplemental allocation under the temporary final rule must file their petitions at the California Service Center. Petitions that are filed at any other location will be rejected.
Written by: Lucy Halse, Content Marketing Associate, Envoy Global
Edited by: Dmitri Pikman, Supervising Attorney, Corporate Immigration Partners
Source: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
