WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a temporary final rule, making an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2024, in addition to the statutory cap of 66,000 H-2B visas available annually. Industries such as hospitality, tourism, landscaping, and seafood processing, heavily reliant on seasonal and temporary workers, will benefit from this supplemental visa allocation, addressing the demand where an insufficient number of U.S. workers is available. The rule also aligns with the Biden Administration’s commitment, as per the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection, to enhance lawful pathways as an alternative to irregular migration.
This proactive allocation at the start of FY 2024 allows U.S. businesses with workforce needs to plan ahead and secure seasonal and temporary workers. Simultaneously, DHS and DOL emphasize robust protections for both U.S. and foreign workers, ensuring employers prioritize the recruitment of American workers for available jobs, as required by the H-2B program, and safeguarding foreign workers from unscrupulous employers. Recently proposed regulations by DHS and DOL aim to fortify worker protections in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, with additional actions detailed in a report by the White House-led H-2B Worker Protection Taskforce.
The H-2B supplemental includes a country-specific allocation of 20,000 visas for workers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. This reflects the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to establishing a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system, expanding legal pathways for migration while imposing consequences for those lacking a legal basis to stay in the United States.
In addition to the country-specific allocation, 44,716 supplemental visas will be available for returning workers who received H-2B visas or held H-2B status in the last three fiscal years. These visas will be allocated between the first and second halves of the fiscal year, considering the varying demand for seasonal and temporary workers throughout the year, with a portion reserved for summer season demand. The semiannual cap of 33,000 H-2B visas for the first half of FY 2024 was reached on October 11, 2023.
The supplemental H-2B visas are allocated as follows:
- First half of FY 2024 (October 1 to March 31): 20,716 visas available immediately to returning workers – those issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FY 2021, FY 2022, or FY 2023, regardless of nationality. These petitions must request employment start dates on or before March 31, 2024.
- Early second half of FY 2024 (April 1 to May 14): 19,000 visas limited to returning workers – those issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FY 2021, FY 2022, or FY 2023, regardless of nationality. Petitions for this period must request employment start dates from April 1, 2024, to May 14, 2024.
- Late second half of FY 2024 (May 15 to September 30): 5,000 visas limited to returning workers – those issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FY 2021, FY 2022, or FY 2023, regardless of nationality. Petitions for this period must request employment start dates from May 15, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2024.
- For the entirety of FY 2024: 20,000 visas reserved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, regardless of whether such nationals are returning workers. Employers requesting an employment start date in the first half of FY 2024 may file such petitions immediately after the publication of this temporary final rule.
The H-2B program allows employers to temporarily hire noncitizens for nonagricultural labor or services in the United States, provided the employment is of a temporary nature, such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, or intermittent need. Employers must follow a series of steps to test the U.S. labor market, obtaining certification from DOL that there are insufficient available and qualified U.S. workers for the temporary work. The maximum stay in H-2B classification is three years. Individuals holding H-2B status for a total of three years must leave the United States and remain outside for an uninterrupted three-month period before seeking readmission.
DHS and DOL remain committed to safeguarding all H-2B workers from exploitation and abuse and ensuring that employers adhere to the law by not refusing to hire or appropriately recruit eligible U.S. workers for temporary work. The temporary final rule introduces several provisions to protect both U.S. and H-2B workers. Petitions for supplemental allocations under this rule must be filed at the USCIS Texas Service Center. Filings at locations other than the Texas Service Center will be rejected, and the filing fees will be returned.
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