USCIS Hits H-2B Visa Cap for FY 2024 First Half

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has reached the congressionally mandated cap for H-2B visas, which provide temporary nonagricultural employment, for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2024. New petitions requesting employment starting before April 1, 2024, were accepted until the final receipt date of October 11, 2023. Any new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after this date, seeking employment before April 1, 2024, will be rejected.

USCIS will continue to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. This includes petitions for:

1. Current H-2B workers extending their stay, changing employers, or modifying employment terms.
2. Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and supervisors involved in fish roe processing.
3. Workers providing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and Guam from November 28, 2009, through December 31, 2029.

The H-2B program allows U.S. businesses to hire foreign workers for temporary nonagricultural positions. The annual H-2B cap is currently set at 66,000, with 33,000 allocated for workers beginning employment in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1 to March 31) and 33,000 (plus any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year) for those starting employment in the second half (April 1 to September 30).

For additional information, please refer to the Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants page.