US announces surpass of ceiling on H-2B temporary foreign worker visas

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of fiscal year 2025 with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule for financial year 2025.

The H-2B program allows U.S. employers who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs.

The final receipt date for petitions requesting supplemental H-2B visas under the FY 2025 first-half returning worker allocation was January 7, 2025.

However, USCIS is still accepting petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, for the additional 20,000 visas allotted for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras (country-specific allocation), as well as those who are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap.

The FY 2025 temporary final rule was implemented on December 2, 2024. USCIS immediately began accepting H-2B petitions with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, for the 20,716 returning worker allocation for the first half of FY 2025, and the 20,000 allocation for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras who are exempt from the returning worker requirement.

Petitioners with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, whose workers were not accepted for the 20,716 returning worker allocation can file under the country-specific allocation while visas remain available. As of January 7, 2025, USCIS have received petitions requesting 3,678 workers under the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.

The maximum period of stay in H-2B classification is three years. A person who has held H-2B nonimmigrant status for a total of three years must depart and remain outside of the United States for an uninterrupted period of three months before seeking readmission as an H-2B nonimmigrant.

The new rule simplifies H-2B program worker stay rules by eliminating “interrupted” stay provisions and providing a uniform 60-day absence period to reset the 3-year clock. This means there is now a new grace period for up to 60 days following a cessation of employment during which an H-2 worker may seek new qualifying employment or prepare for departure from the United States without violating their H-2 status or accruing unlawful presence.

The regulation would allocate the supplemental visas for returning workers between the first half and second half of the fiscal year to account for the need for additional seasonal and other temporary workers throughout the year, with a portion of the second half allocation reserved to meet the demand for workers during the peak summer season.

Currently, Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (Oct. 1 – Mar. 31) and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (Apr. 1—Sep. 30).

In November 2024, the US announced that it expects to make an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The additional H-2B visas will be in addition to the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year.

To implement this rule, a new edition of Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker will be required for all petitions beginning January 17, 2025, which is the rule’s effective date.