Cap Reached for Additional Returning Worker H-2B Visas for the Early Second Half of FY 2024

 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 19,000 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the early second half of fiscal year (FY) 2024 with start dates from April 1 to May 14, 2024, under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule (FY 2024 TFR). April 17, 2024, was the final receipt date for petitions requesting supplemental H-2B visas under the FY 2024 early second half returning worker allocation.

We are still accepting petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers for the additional 20,000 visas allotted for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica (country-specific allocation) who are exempt from the returning worker requirement, as well as those who are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. Please see Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2024 for information on the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

Starting April 22, 2024, we will begin accepting petitions for workers for the late second half of FY 2024, requesting employment start dates from May 15 to Sept. 30, 2024. The 5,000 visas made available under this allocation are limited to returning workers who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2021, 2022, or 2023, regardless of country of nationality.

Additional information on the FY 2024 supplemental visas is available on the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2024 page.