H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Visa Cap Reached

Petitions are still being accepted for certain nationals and exempt groups

Last week, Worldwide ERC® reported that on May 16, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a temporary rule authorizing the issuance of an additional 35,000 H-2B visas for the second half of Fiscal Year 2022 for positions with start dates after April 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022.

This increase is based on time-limited statutory authority that does not affect the H-2B program in future fiscal years.

The additional visas are divided into two allocations, as follows:

• 23,500 visas to returning workers, regardless of country of nationality, that is, those workers who were issued H2B visas or held H2B visas in fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021, and
• 11,500 visas reserved for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti nationals.

 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 23,500 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas made available for returning workers.

In the first five business days of filing, USCIS received petitions for more beneficiaries than the additional 23,500 visas made available for H-2B returning workers. The computer-generated randomized selection process, was completed on May 27,

Petitions will continue to be accepted for H-2B nonimmigrant workers for the additional 11,500 visas allotted for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti, regardless of whether they are returning workers as well as those exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. This includes petitions for:

• Current H-2B workers in the United States 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 supervisors of fish roe processing; and
• Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from Nov. 28, 2009, until Dec. 31, 2029.

Petitioners whose workers were not selected for the 23,500 returning worker allotment are encouraged to refile for workers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti while visas for that allotment remain available. The final date for filing petitions for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti who are exempt from the returning worker requirement is Sept. 15, 2022, or when the cap is reached, whichever occurs first.

The H-2B Application package can be filed electronically through the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) System. Employers that lack adequate access to electronic filing may apply. The H-2B Application package includes the Form ETA-9142B; a copy of relevant appendices; the Prevailing Wage Determination case tracking number issued by the National Prevailing Wage Center, which can be linked to the ETA-9142B application in FLAG; a copy of the job order; and any applicable supporting documentation.

Additional information on the FY 2022 supplemental visas is available on the Temporary Increase in Nonmigrant H-2B Visas for FY 2022 page.