On Thursday, May 12, 2016, USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap (66,000) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. May 12, 2016 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before October 1, 2016. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determined that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of H-2B workers for FY2016.
USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that were received after May 12, 2016 and that request an employment start date before October 1, 2016, but there are some exceptions!
The exceptions are listed below:
• For FY 2016 only, workers identified as “returning workers” who were previously counted against the annual H-2B cap during FYs 2013, 2014, or 2015;
• Current H-2B workers in the U.S. petitioning to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change their employers;
• Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and • Workers performing labor or services from November 28, 2009, until December 31, 2019, in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam.
For more detailed information about this subject please review the USCIS News Alert, “USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for Fiscal Year 2016“.
Source of Information:
USCIS.gov, 5/19/16, News Alert:
USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for Fiscal Year 2016
USCIS.gov, 5/19/16, Web Page:
Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants