Joint Rule is Issued to Supplement H-2B Visa Cap

By NRCA.

Supplemental visas available only to U.S. businesses which attest that they will likely suffer irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition. 

U.S. Customs and Immigration Services announced July 23 that employers can file H-2B petitions for returning workers under the fiscal year 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule. Employers may take this action if they are likely to suffer irreparable harm without these additional workers. 

A petitioner must file a new Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, 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 workers who were 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 or until the remainder of the cap is reached—whichever occurs first. Petitions that arrive after the cap has been reached will be rejected. USCIS previously announced having received enough petitions for the 16,000 visas initially made available for returning workers under the rule. Although USCIS received requests for a substantial number of workers from the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras), it did not receive enough petitions to reach the 6,000 visas allocated for workers from those countries by the July 8 deadline. According to the temporary final rule, the few remaining visas now are available to eligible H-2B returning workers, regardless of their countries of origin. 

USCIS encourages employers to file as soon as possible because petitions are likely to quickly reach the remainder of the cap. 

For more details about eligibility and filing requirements, see the temporary final rule and the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2021 page. 

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