The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) together with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a joint temporary final rule to increase the number of H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2024. This rule makes available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2024. These supplemental H-2B visas are for U.S. employers seeking to petition for additional workers at certain periods of the fiscal year before Sept. 16, 2024.
The supplemental H-2B visa allocation consists of roughly 44,700 visas available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status during one of the last three fiscal years. The remaining 20,000 visas are reserved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, and now Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, regardless of whether they are returning workers.
Allocation Dates
The Supplemental H-2B visas have been divided into the following allocations:
- For employers seeking nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica: There are 20,000 visas reserved for the entirety of FY 2024. Employers requesting an employment start date in the first half of FY 2024 may file such petitions immediately after the publication of this TFR. Employers requesting an employment start date in the second half of FY 2024 must file such petitions no earlier than 15 days after the second half of the statutory cap authorized under the Immigration and Nationality Act is reached, a date that USCIS will identify in a public announcement.
- For the first half of FY 2024 (Oct. 1 to March 31): There are 20,716 immediately available visas limited to returning workers regardless of country of nationality. These petitions must request employment start dates on or before March 31, 2024.
- For the early second half of FY 2024 (April 1 to May 14): There are 19,000 visas limited to returning workers regardless of country of nationality. These early second half of FY 2024 petitions must request employment start dates from April 1, 2024, to May 14, 2024. Furthermore, employers must file these petitions no earlier than 15 days after the second half statutory cap is reached, a date that USCIS will identify in a public announcement.
- For the late second half of FY 2024 (May 15 to Sept. 30): There are 5,000 visas limited to returning workers regardless of country of nationality. These late second half of FY 2024 petitions must request employment start dates from May 15, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2024. Furthermore, employers must file these petitions no earlier than 45 days after the second half statutory cap is reached, a date that USCIS will identify in a public announcement.
Important Filing Information
Petitions requesting supplemental allocations under this rule must be filed at the Texas Service Center. Petitions filed under the supplemental allocations in this rule at any location other than the Texas Service Center will be rejected and the filing fees will be returned. The authority to approve H-2B petitions under this FY 2024 supplemental cap expires at the end of that the fiscal year, that is, the end of Sept. 30, 2024. DHS has set Sept. 16, 2024 as the last day to file H-2B petitions requesting supplemental visas. USCIS will not approve H-2B petitions filed in connection with this FY 2024 supplemental cap authority on or after Oct. 1, 2024.
Background
The H-2B program permits employers to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be for a limited period of time, and the petitioner must have a temporary need for the labor or services to be performed such as a one-time occurrence, peak load, seasonal or intermittent need. Employers seeking to hire H-2B workers under the FY 2024 supplemental cap must attest that they are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested on the petition. Employers seeking to hire H-2B workers must take a series of steps to test the U.S. labor market. They must provide certification from DOL that proves there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work for which they seek a prospective foreign worker, and that employing the H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Employers filing an H-2B petition 30 or more days after the certified start date on the temporary labor certification must also take certain additional steps to recruit U.S. workers.
DHS will subject employers that have committed certain labor law violations in the H-2B program to additional scrutiny in the supplemental cap petition process. This additional scrutiny is aimed at ensuring compliance with H-2B program requirements and obligations. In addition, recognizing the critical importance of protecting H-2B workers from exploitation and abuse, the Departments are actively engaged in reform efforts outside of this rulemaking. On Oct. 19, 2023, the H-2B Worker Protection Taskforce, convened by the White House, published a report announcing new actions to be taken by four federal agencies—DHS, DOL, Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development—to strengthen protections for vulnerable workers. Further, on Sept. 20, 2023, DHS published a notice of proposed rulemaking to modernize and improve both the H-2B and H-2A programs, including by providing greater flexibility and protections for participating workers.
For More Information
Additional details on eligibility and filing requirements will be available in the temporary final rule and the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2024 webpage. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
