On 11/7/16, USCIS updated its H-2B cap count for FY2017, stating that it has approved 11,696 beneficiaries and has 1,113 pending beneficiaries towards the 33,000 cap amount.
Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants
Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS may only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt or not subject to the H-2B cap.
Fiscal Year 2017 H-2B Cap Count
USCIS is currently accepting petitions under the FY 2017 H-2B cap. USCIS will regularly update the chart below as H-2B petitions for FY 2017 are received.
|
Cap Type |
Cap Amount |
Beneficiaries Approved |
Beneficiaries Pending |
Total Beneficiaries1 |
Date of Last Count |
|
H-2B: First Half of FY 2017 |
33,000 |
11,696 |
1,113 |
12,809 |
11/07/2016 |
|
H-2B: Second Half of FY 2017 April 1 |
33,000 |
The H-2B Program
The H-2B nonimmigrant program permits employers to hire foreign workers to come temporarily to the U.S. and perform temporary nonagricultural services or labor on a one-time, seasonal, peak-load or intermittent basis. U.S. employers may petition for skilled or unskilled alien workers to meet temporary or seasonal needs in positions for which qualified U.S. workers are not available. Both the services for which the employer requests H-2 labor approval and the employer’s need for such services must be temporary.
What is the H-2B Cap?
There is currently an annual cap of 66,000 visas for H-2B workers, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30). Unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be available for employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. Unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year do not carry over into the next.
Workers Who Are Exempt from the H-2B Cap
Generally, workers in the United States in H-2B status who extend their stay, change employers, or change the terms and conditions of employment will not be subject to the cap. Similarly, H-2B workers who have previously been counted against the cap in the same fiscal year that the proposed employment begins will not be subject to the cap if the employer names the workers on the petition and indicates that they have already been counted. The spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants are also not counted against this cap.
Additionally, petitions for the following types of workers are exempt from the H-2B cap:
- Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians or supervisors of fish roe processing;
- Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands or Guam from November 28, 2009, until December 31, 2019.
- For FY 2016 only, workers certified and confirmed as “returning workers” who were previously counted against the annual H-2B cap during FYs 2013, 2014 or 2015. Pending a congressional decision on whether this exemption will be extended, H-2B employers should continue to identify “returning workers” in petitions for FY 2017.
