DHS to Supplement H-2B Cap with Additional Visas for Second Half of Fiscal Year 2022
March 31, 2022
For the fiscal year 2022, the Department of Homeland Security announced the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule to make available an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas. These additional visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers on or after April 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2022.
The supplemental H-2B visa allocation consists of 23,500 visas available only 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 11,500 visas, which are exempt from the returning worker requirement, are reserved for nationals of Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The temporary final rule will include provisions to ensure that only petitions from employers who comply with labor laws may be approved.
Once the temporary final rule has been published and is effective, eligible employers seeking cap-subject H-2B workers can file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, seeking additional H-2B workers. They must submit an attestation with their petition to demonstrate their business is suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without a supplemental workforce.
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