As of Friday, August 13th, 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
Source of Information:
USCIS has launched a web-based “H-2B Employer Data Hub”! This web page allows you to select different H-2B Visa data points, such as cap fiscal year (back to FY 2015), and many others to search areas related to H-2B. They stated that the data hub is part of their efforts to increase transparency to the public and users.
Please view this USCIS News Alert for more details: USCIS Launches H-2B Employer Data Hub
USCIS Webpage: H-2B Employer Data Hub
USCIS has announced that they have reached the 16,000 additional petitions needed for the H-2B supplemental cap for fiscal year (FY) 2021! They will continue to accept petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers for the additional 6,000 petitions for Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. This temporary final rule supplements the H-2B Visa Cap by adding 22,000 to the amount accepted for this FY. This will affect H-2B temporary nonagricultural guest worker visas for FY 2021!
Please view this USCIS News Alert for more details: Cap Reached for Additional Returning Worker H-2B Visas for FY 2021
Source of Information:
The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have issued a Joint Rule supplementing H-2B Visa Cap by 22,000. This will affect H-2B temporary nonagricultural guest worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2021! They are trying to help employers who are likely to suffer irreparable harm without these additional workers during this period. The supplemental H-2B visa allocation will consist of 16,000 visas available only to returning H-2B workers from one of the last three fiscal years, FY 2018 through FY 2020, and 6,000 visas for Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Please view this USCIS News Release for more details: U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Labor Issue Joint Rule Supplementing H-2B Visa Cap
Source of Information:
USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap (33,000) for the second half of FY 2021. February 12, 2021 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 FY2021, for a total of 66,000 for the year.
USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that were received after February 12, 2021 and that request an employment start date before October 1, 2021, but there are some exceptions!
The exceptions are listed below:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they have published a notice in the Federal Register listing the countries that are eligible for the H-2A and H-2B temporary immigration programs for 2021!
For 2021, DHS working with the Department of State (DOS) have agreed to:
USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2021
On Wednesday, November 18, 2020, USCIS announced that it has reached the H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2020. November 16, 2020 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2021. 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 FY2021. USCIS continues to accept petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated H-2B cap.
The exceptions are listed below:
H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 11/9/20
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 2021 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (11/9/20); 27,455 beneficiaries have been approved and 5,455 are pending for a total of 32,910.
H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 11/5/20
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 2021 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (11/5/20); 24,181 beneficiaries have been approved and 5,558 are pending for a total of 29,739.
H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 10/26/20
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 2021 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (10/26/20); 20,326 beneficiaries have been approved and 2,845 are pending for a total of 23,171.
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