Employers May File H-2B Petitions for Returning Workers for Fiscal Year 2021.
July 29, 2021
USCIS has announced on July 23rd. that employers may file H-2B petitions for returning workers under the FY 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule. Employers may take this action if they are likely to suffer irreversible harm without these additional workers. A petitioner should file a new Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, together with an approved and valid temporary labor certification that states an employment start date for the second half of the fiscal year, and attest that these noncitizens will be returning workers.
Returning workers are defined as those workers who were previously issued an H-2B visa or otherwise granted H-2B status in Fiscal Years 2018, 2019, or 2020. USCIS will accept petitions for returning workers until Sept. 15, 2021, or until the remainder of the cap is reached, whichever occurs first. Any petitions that arrive after this limit has been reached will be rejected.