H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2016 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (3/15/16) this first half cap count has been reached. Please read USCIS update below!

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2016 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (3/24/16); 4,065 beneficiaries have been approved and 5,594 are pending for a total of 9,659.

On Monday, March 21, 2016, USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap (33,000) for the first half of FY 2016. March 15, 2016 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2016. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determined that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY2016.

USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that were received after March 15, 2016 and that request an employment start date before April 1, 2016, but there are some exceptions!

The exceptions are listed below:

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2016 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (3/9/16); 33,478 beneficiaries have been approved and 7,456 are pending for a total of 38,934.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2016 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000*. As of the last count (3/9/16); 524 beneficiaries have been approved and 2,059 are pending for a total of 2,583.