Articles Posted in nonimmigrant visas

On Thursday, March 2, 2023, USCIS announced that it has reached the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year 2023. February 27, 2023 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2023, and before Oct. 1, 2023. 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 second half FY2023. USCIS continues to accept petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated H-2B cap.

The exceptions are listed below:

• 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;

On Monday, December 12th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), that they are issuing a temporary final rule making available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023! These new visas will be added to the normal 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each year. Twenty thousand (20,000) of these added visas are set aside for nationals from Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas stated, “The Department is making supplemental H-2B visas available earlier than ever, ensuring that American businesses can plan for their peak season labor needs,”.

For further details please review the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) News Release, “DHS and DOL Announce Availability of Additional H-2B Visas for Fiscal Year 2023“  

 
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On Wednesday, October 12th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), that they are issuing a new regulation making available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023! These new visas will be added to the normal 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each year. Twenty thousand (20,000) of these added visas are set aside for nationals from Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. 

For further details please review the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) News Release, “DHS to Supplement H-2B Cap with Nearly 65,000 Additional Visas for Fiscal Year 2023“  

 
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On Wednesday, September 14, 2022, USCIS announced that it has reached the H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2023. September 12, 2022 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2023. 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 FY2023. USCIS continues to accept petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated H-2B cap.

The exceptions are listed below:

• 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;

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 2023 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/1/22); 24,947 beneficiaries have been approved and 4,627 are pending for a total of 29,574.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2023 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/1/22); 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 2023 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/29/22); 19,000 beneficiaries have been approved and 5,486 are pending for a total of 24,486.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2023 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/29/22); 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 2023 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/22/22); 12,718 beneficiaries have been approved and 7,882 are pending for a total of 20,600.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2023 (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 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. USCIS announced on Tuesday, May 31st that they have received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 23,500 visas made available for returning H-2B workers. They will continue to accept petitions for H-2B workers for the other 11,500 visas which have been allotted for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti, regardless of whether they are returning workers. 

For more information, please review the USCIS News Alert, “Cap Reached for Additional Returning Worker H-2B Visas for Second Half of FY 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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