The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the fulfillment of the cap for an additional 20,716 H-2B visas, specifically designated for returning workers during the first half of fiscal year 2024. These visas were made available for positions with start dates on or before March 31, as per a temporary final rule established in November.
As of January 9, the final receipt date for petitions seeking supplemental H-2B visas under the FY 2024 first half returning worker allocation has passed. Any cap-subject petitions received after this date for H-2B returning workers with start dates on or before March 31, 2024, will be rejected and returned along with accompanying fees, according to the USCIS.
However, the USCIS is still open to receiving petitions for H-2B non-immigrant workers with start dates on or before March 31, 2024. This applies to the additional 20,000 visas allocated for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.
As of January 12, 2024, the USCIS has received petitions for 4,500 workers under the 20,000 visas designated for nationals of these seven countries. Additionally, petitions are being accepted for individuals exempt from the congressionally-mandated cap.
For petitioners with start dates on or before March 31, 2024, whose workers were not accepted for the 20,716 returning worker allocation, the USCIS encourages filing under the country-specific allocation while visas are still available.
In a release, the USCIS highlighted the temporary final rule published on November 17, 2023, by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor. This rule increased the numerical limit on H-2B non-immigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas for fiscal year 2024.
These supplemental visas are exclusively accessible to US businesses facing irreparable harm or anticipating such harm without the ability to employ all requested H-2B workers, as attested by the employer on a new attestation form. The visas are distributed in various allocations, including two separate allocations for the second half of FY 2024.
Out of the 64,716 additional visas, 44,716 are earmarked for returning workers, and the remaining 20,000 are reserved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica under a country-specific allocation. H-2B visas are designed for seasonal/temporary jobs, allowing US employers to address workforce shortages by hiring skilled or unskilled workers. Before initiating the visa application, employers must obtain Department of Labor certification.
(With Agency Inputs)
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