H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2023
USCIS has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2023. Feb. 27, 2023 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date on Apr. 1, 2023.
On Feb. 27, 2023, the number of beneficiaries for whom USCIS received petitions surpassed the total number of remaining H-2B visas available for the H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2023. In accordance with regulations, CIS determined it was necessary to use a computer-generated selection process intended to ensure the fair and orderly allocation of H-2B visa cap numbers available, without exceeding the FY 2023 cap. On March 1, 2023, CIS conducted the selection process to randomly select petitions from those received on Feb. 27, 2023. Upon completion of this random selection process, CIS assigned all selected petitions a receipt date and began premium processing services.
Filing Dates for Second Half of FY 2023 Supplemental Visas
These supplemental visas are available only to U.S. businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition, as attested by the employer on the DOL Form ETA 9142-B-CAA-7. These supplemental H-2B visas are for U.S. employers seeking to petition for additional workers at certain periods of the fiscal year before Sept. 15, 2023.
- For employers seeking nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti: USCIS will begin accepting petitions for employers requesting an employment start date from Apr. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2023, on March 14, 2023.
- For employers seeking workers for the early second half of FY 2023 (Apr. 1 to May 14): USCIS will begin accepting petitions for the additional 16,500 visas made available to returning workers regardless of country of nationality on March 14, 2023.