AGC recently joined the H-2B Workforce Coalition in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) urging their immediate release of supplemental H-2B visas for fiscal year 2026. The letter also makes a case for streamlining the application process and access to H-2B visas. The Administration has previously recognized the shortage of seasonal labor and the role the H-2B visas can play in filling these needs in certain cases by issuing Congressionally authorized supplemental visas in times of economic need. AGC hopes those policies continue.
The H-2B visa program permits eligible employers to hire noncitizens to perform temporary nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be of a temporary nature, such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, peak load need, or intermittent need. Employers seeking H-2B workers must take a series of steps to test the U.S. labor market. They must obtain certification from DOL that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to perform the temporary work for which they seek a prospective foreign worker, and that employing H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
The maximum period of stay in H-2B classification is three years. A person who has held H-2B nonimmigrant status for a total of three years must depart and remain outside of the United States for an uninterrupted period of three months before seeking readmission as an H-2B nonimmigrant. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov.
For more information, please contact Jim Young.