US companies looking to engage temporary foreign workers under the H-2B visa program will have to hurry up submitting their applications with the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC).

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will allow a three-day filing window for the H-2B Program with work start dates of October 1, 2025. The three-day filing window for US employers to hire temporary seasonal workers from abroad under the H-2B Program 2025-26 opens on July 3.

The three-day filing window to submit an H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA-9142B and appendices) requesting a work start date of October 1, 2025, will open on July 3, 2025, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and close on July 5, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

This three-day period is the earliest an employer may apply for an October 1, 2025, work start date, which is the first day of the semi-annual visa allotment for the first half of Fiscal Year 2026.

Employers seeking start dates of October 2, 2025, or later must comply with the timeliness requirements, according to which a completed Application for Temporary Employment Certification must be filed no more than 90 calendar days and no less than 75 calendar days before the employer’s date of need.

As per the regulatory requirements and OFLC’s standard operating procedures, H-2B applications requesting October 1, 2025, work start dates will be denied if they are filed before July 3, 2025, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

After the three-day filing window has closed, OFLC will randomly order applications for assignment to analysts for review and processing all H-2B applications requesting a work start date of October 1, 2025, that are filed during the three-day filing window (July 3-5, 2025) using the randomization procedures published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2019.

All registered employers that desire to hire H-2B workers must file an Application for Temporary Employment Certification (TLC).

The standards and procedures governing the submission and processing of H-2B labor certification applications are clearly defined by USCIS. These regulations generally require, among other things, that a registered employer with a non-emergency situation seeking an H-2B TLC file a completed H-2B application with the National Processing Center (NPC) designated by the OFLC Administrator.

As per the rules, only one H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification per job opportunity should be filed to prevent duplicate filings and delayed processing.

The H-2B program allows US employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for nonagricultural labor or services, provided they have a temporary need for such services, such as one-time, peak load, seasonal, or intermittent needs.

The H-2B cap, which is 66,000 per fiscal year, includes 33,000 workers for the first half of the fiscal year (Oct. 1 – Mar. 31) and 33,000 for the second half (Apr. 1 – Sep. 30).

In November 2024, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor have extended the availability of 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for FY 2025.

The H-2B visa allows a maximum stay of three years, and individuals with three years of nonimmigrant status must leave the US for three months before seeking readmission.