Previous Story
Cap reached for remaining H-2B visas
|
Posted on Aug 24 2021
As of Aug. 13, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions for returning workers to reach the additional 22,000 H-2B visas made available under the FY 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule. We will reject and return any cap-subject petitions for H-2B returning workers received after Aug. 13, together with any accompanying fees.
As previously announced, we began accepting additional H-2B petitions for returning workers on July 23 for the few remaining visas initially allocated as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s broader efforts to expand legal pathways for protection and opportunity for workers from the Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). USCIS received requests for a significant number of Northern Triangle workers—nearly enough to reach the 6,000 allocation—and the administration remains committed to expanding these legal pathways.
We will continue to accept H-2B petitions for workers that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. This includes petitions for:
• Current H-2B workers in the United States who extend their stay, change employers, or change the terms and conditions of their employment;
• Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
• Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands or Guam from Nov. 28, 2009, until Dec. 31, 2029.
We are also currently accepting cap-subject petitions for the first half of FY 2022 for employment start dates on or after Oct. 1, 2021 and before April 1, 2022. (PR)
