Articles Posted in H-2B visas

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced on Thursday, March 31, 2022, that they would be adding 35,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2022. These additional visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ qualified workers on or after April 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2022. 

23,500 of these additional visas will be available for returning workers, who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years, the remaining 11,500 visas are for nationals of Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. For more information please review the USCIS News Release, “DHS and DOL to Supplement the H-2B Cap with Additional Visas for Second Half of Fiscal Year 2022”. 

 
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced on Thursday, March 31, 2022, that they would be adding 35,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2022. These additional visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ qualified workers on or after April 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2022. 

23,500 of these additional visas will be available for returning workers, who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years, the remaining 11,500 visas are for nationals of Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. For more information please review the USCIS News Release, “DHS and DOL to Supplement the H-2B Cap with Additional Visas for Second Half of Fiscal Year 2022”. 

 
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USCIS announced that it has received enough H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap (33,000) for the second half of FY 2022. February 25, 2022 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before October 1st. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determined that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the second half of FY2022, for a total of 66,000 for the year. 

USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that were received after February 25, 2022 and that request an employment start date before October 1, 2022, but there are some exceptions! 

The exceptions are listed below:

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2022 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000 and was reached on 9/30/21.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2022 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (2/15/22); 13,215 beneficiaries have been approved and 9,995 are pending for a total of 23,210.

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2022 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000 and was reached on 9/30/21.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2022 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (1/28/22); 71 beneficiaries have been approved and 2139 are pending for a total of 3010.

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas stated that, “At a time of record job growth, additional H-2B visas will help to fuel our Nation’s historic economic recovery,”! The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced on Monday, December 20th they were making an additional 20,000 H-2 B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2022 available. They also announced that 6,500 of these additional H-2B visas were being set aside for nationals of Haiti and the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Secretary Mayorkas also stated, “DHS is taking action to protect American businesses and create opportunities that will expand lawful pathways to the United States for workers from the Northern Triangle countries and Haiti. In the coming months, DHS will seek to implement policies that will make the H-2B program even more responsive to the needs of our economy, while protecting the rights of both U.S. and noncitizen workers.” 

 
Review the USCIS News Release for more details: For First Time, DHS to Supplement H-2B Cap with Additional Visas in First Half of Fiscal Year 

 
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USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2022

On Wednesday, October 12, 2021, USCIS announced that it has reached the H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2022. September 30, 2021 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2022. 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 the first half FY2022. USCIS continues to accept petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated H-2B cap.

The exceptions are listed below:

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2022 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/23/21); 25,546 beneficiaries have been approved and 5,245 are pending for a total of 30,791.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2022 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/23/21); 0 beneficiaries have been approved and 0 are pending for a total of 0.

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2022 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/26/21); 13,638 beneficiaries have been approved and 2,175 are pending for a total of 15,813.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2022 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/26/21); 0 beneficiaries have been approved and 0 are pending for a total of 0.

As of Friday, August 13^th, USCIS has reached the cap for the FY 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule! They have reached the 22,000 H-2B visas made available under this temporary change for the Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras).

Please view this USCIS News Alert for more details: Cap Reached for Remaining H-2B Visas for Returning Workers for FY 2021

 
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