Cap Reached for Additional H-2B Returning Worker Visas; Petitioners Encouraged to File Under Country-Specific Allocations While Visas Remain Available

On January 10, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of fiscal year 2025 with start dates on or before March 31, 2025. January 7, 2025, was the final receipt date for petitions requesting supplemental H-2B visas under this allocation.

USCIS said it is still accepting petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, for the additional 20,000 visas allotted for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras (country-specific allocation), as well as those who are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap.

USCIS encourages petitioners whose H-2B workers with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, were not accepted for the 20,716 returning worker allocation to file under the country-specific allocation while visas remain available. As of January 7, 2025, USCIS had received petitions requesting 3,678 workers under the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.