DHS Will Make Additional Visas for Foreign Workers to Assist American Businesses at Risk of Failing

On May 25, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that an additional 15,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas will be available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. According to DHS, there are not sufficient, qualified, U.S. workers available to perform temporary non-agriculture labor to satisfy the needs of American businesses in FY18. This allocation is in addition to the 66,000 visas already issued this year. The H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker program is designed to serve U.S. businesses unable to find a sufficient number of qualified U.S. workers to perform nonagricultural work of a temporary nature. Congress set the annual H-2B visa cap at 66,000. A maximum of 33,000 H-2B visas are available during the first half of the fiscal year, and the remainder, including any unused H-2B visas from the first half of that fiscal year, is available starting April 1 through September 30.

Starting May 25, eligible petitioners for H-2B visas can file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. Eligible petitioners must submit a supplemental attestation on Form ETA 9142-B-CAA-2 with their petition.

Source: USCIS.