According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency has received enough petitions from employers to reach the cap for the latter half of the 2024 fiscal year. As such, March 7, 2024, marked the final receipt date for petitions requesting a start date in the second half of the fiscal year.

Employers use the H-2B visa to fill temporary non-agricultural positions. These visas often allow them to hire hospitality, seafood, landscaping, and other industry workers. Congress has set the annual cap for these visas at 66,000. The USCIS divides the H-2B cap in half for the fiscal year. 

This process gives employers with labor needs access to these visas at different points in the year. The USCIS has stopped accepting petitions for positions with hiring dates on or after April 1 and before October 1. However, the agency will continue accepting visa applications exempt from the Congressionally-mandated cap.

These include: 

• Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, or supervisors of fish roe processing.
• Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands or Guam until December 31, 2029.
• USCIS has also announced the filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas the agency made available through rule-making published late last year. According to the agency, the dates for these supplemental visas will be as follows: 
• “First half of FY 2024 (October 1 to March 31): 20,716 visas are immediately available to returning workers – those who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FY 2021, FY 2022, or FY 2023, regardless of country of nationality. These petitions must request employment start dates on or before March 31, 2024.
• Early second half of FY 2024 (April 1 to May 14): 19,000 visas are limited to returning workers – those who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FY 2021, FY 2022, or FY 2023, regardless of country of nationality. These early second half of FY 2024 petitions must request employment start dates from April 1, 2024, to May 14, 2024.  
• Late second half of FY 2024 (May 15 to September 30): 5,000 visas are limited to returning workers – those who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FY 2021, FY 2022, or FY 2023, regardless of country of nationality. These late second half of FY 2024 petitions must request employment start dates from May 15, 2024, to September 30, 2024.
• For the entirety of FY 2024, 20,000 visas are reserved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, regardless of whether such nationals are returning workers. Employers requesting an employment start date in the first half of FY 2024 may file such petitions immediately after the publication of this temporary final rule.”

It is important for employers to keep up with these developments to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulations. A critical area of compliance that often gets overlooked is the employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) process. The best way to help keep compliant with the Form I-9 is to invest in an electronic I-9 management tool. This tool helps guarantee uniform compliance with each completed form and store documentation digitally, so it is always on hand when needed.

When it comes to your employees, automation makes eligibility verification quick and simple. Ensure compliance today with I-9 Compliance.

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