The H-2B Program For Non-Agricultural Temporary Workers

The H-2B program is a program that allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.

The H-2B program has a statutory numerical limit, or “cap,” on the total number of H-2B visas that can be issued during a fiscal year. Currently, the H-2B cap set by Congress is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 1st half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30). Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be made available for use by employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. There is no “carry over” of unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year to the next.

If the cap is not reached for the 1st half of the fiscal year, those numbers will be made available for use during the 2nd half of the fiscal year. In some fiscal years, therefore, depending on demand for H-2B workers, more than 33,000 cap-subject persons may be granted H-2B status during the 2nd half of the fiscal year.

See the USCIS chart below for Fiscal Year of 2015.

Fiscal Year 2015 H-2B Cap Count Updated

As USCIS receives H-2B petitions for Fiscal Year 2015, the chart below will be regularly updated.