United States: H-2B Cap Reached for Additional Returning Workers for Early Second Half of FY 2025

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 19,000 H-2B visas made available under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule for returning workers for the early second half of fiscal year (FY) 2025 with start dates from April 1 to May 14, 2025. April 18, 2025 was the final receipt date for petitions requesting supplemental H-2B visas under the FY 2025 early second half returning worker allocation.

USCIS is still accepting petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers for the additional 20,000 visas allotted for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica (country-specific allocation) who are exempt from the returning worker requirement, as well as those who are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. Information on the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica is available on Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2025. USCIS reports that as of April 17, 2025, there are a projected 6,796 H-2B beneficiaries remaining in this category.

Filing dates for late second half of FY 2025 supplemental visas

Starting April 21, 2025, USCIS began accepting petitions for workers for the late second half of FY 2025, requesting employment start dates from May 15 to September 30, 2025. The 5,000 visas made available under this allocation are limited to returning workers who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2022, 2023, or 2024, regardless of country of nationality.

Background

In December 2024, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL) authorized an additional 64,716 H-2B visa numbers for FY 2025. The additional visas are made available in a series of allocations over the course of FY 2025.

Additional information on the FY 2025 supplemental visas is available on the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2025 page.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.