U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the cap for additional H-2B visas for the first half of fiscal year 2025 (FY 2025). USCIS received enough petitions by the January 7, 2025, deadline to allocate 20,716 H-2B visas for returning workers, covering positions with start dates on or before March 31, 2025. These valuable visas were made available under the Exercise of Time-Limited Authority To Increase the Numerical Limitation for FY 2025 for the H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Program and Portability Flexibility for H-2B Workers Seeking To Change Employers and are designed to enable nonimmigrant workers to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.
Understanding the H-2B Visa
The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for up to three years to fill open non-agricultural positions on a one-time, seasonal, peak-load, or intermittent basis. The program aims to alleviate labor shortages in fields with surging employment needs—for example, industries like landscaping, forestry, construction, hospitality, and seafood processing.
Businesses employing H-2B workers must meet specific requirements, including demonstrating a lack of available U.S. workers for the jobs and ensuring that hiring H-2B workers doesn’t negatively affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers in similar roles.
The H-2B program is capped at 66,000 visas annually, with 33,000 H-2B visa recipients allowed to start work after the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 H-2B visa recipients approved to start work after the second half of the fiscal year. The Exercise of Time-Limited Authority To Increase the Numerical Limitation for FY 2025 for the H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Program and Portability Flexibility for H-2B Workers Seeking To Change Employers made an additional 64,716 visas available for FY 2025.
Of the extra 64,716 visas made available for FY 2025, 44,716 are offered only to returning workers—that is, workers who’ve had an H-2B visa or status in one of the past three fiscal years. The H-2B visas are allocated as follows:
- First Half of FY 2025: 20,716 visas made available to petitioners with requested employment start dates on or before March 31, 2025.
- Early Second Half of FY 2025: 19,000 visas made available to petitioners with requested employment start dates between April 1, 2025, and May 14, 2025.
- Late Second Half of FY 2025: 5,000 visas made available to petitioners with requested employment start dates between May 15, 2025, and September 30, 2025.
The rule also designated 20,000 visas for nationals of specific countries, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.
Available H-2B Visas
Although USCIS has reached its cap for the 20,716 visas allocated for the first half of FY 2025, it’s still accepting petitions for H-2B visas with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, for workers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, along with those who are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap.
According to USCIS, as of January 7, 2025, they’ve only received 3,678 petitions requesting workers from the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. Petitioners with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, whose workers were not accepted under the 20,716 returning worker allocation are encouraged to apply for the country-specific allocation while visas are still available.
An Immigration Partner
The announcement that the returning worker cap for the first half of the fiscal year has been reached highlights the H-2B program’s popularity. Despite high demand, employers with workforce needs for both the first and second halves of the fiscal year still have viable options. McLane Middleton is a valuable partner for businesses employing a global workforce and can assist with everything from strategic planning to helping secure much-needed visas, like the H-2B.
Contact McLane Middleton if you have questions about the H-2B visa or any other immigration issue.