U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reports that as of January 26, 2015, the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2015 has been reached.
January 26, 2015 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2015. The final receipt date is when USCIS received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY 2015. This means that no cap numbers from the first half of FY 2015 will carry over to the second half of FY 2015, which begins on April 1, 2015.
The cap for each half-year is 33,000, but USCIS accepts filings in excess of the cap because some cases will be denied or withdrawn and because employers may ultimately employ fewer H-2B beneficiaries than reflected in their petitions.
For employment in the second half of FY 2015, the agency has received filings on behalf of 7,018 beneficiaries. Of these, 2,156 had been approved and 4,862 remained pending.
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