AGC recently joined the H-2B Workforce Coalition in a letter to the Trump administration urging their release of supplemental H-2B visas as the beginning of the second half cap season on April 1 approaches. Based on publicly available data and traditional processing times, it appears that sometime last week that the FY2025 H-2B second half cap was met. The demand far exceeds the 66,000 statutory cap which means that seasonal employers who have spring and summer dates of need are capped out absent cap relief.
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 uscis.gov.
For more information, please contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or Claiborne Guy at 703-837-5382.