U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2024.
October 11, 2023 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2024. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after October 11, 2023 that request an employment start date before April 1, 2024.
USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. This includes petitions for:
- Current H-2B workers in the United States who extend their stay, change employers, or change the terms and conditions of their employment;
- Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
- Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from November 28, 2009, until December 31, 2029.
The H-2B cap is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1–March 31) and 33,000 (plus any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year) for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1–September 30). For more information, visit the Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants page.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
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