The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the Congressionally-mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers for the second half of fiscal year 2025 (USCIS Press Release, 3/26/25).
U.S. businesses use the H-2B program to employ foreign workers for temporary non-agricultural jobs. 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 (October 1 to March 31) and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 to September 30).
March 5, 2025, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2025. The USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after March 5, 2025, that request an employment start date before October 1, 2025.
The USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the Congressionally-mandated cap. This includes the following types of petitions:
- Current H-2B workers in the U.S. petitioning to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change their employers;
- 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.
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