EMPLOYERS MAY FILE H-2B PETITIONS FOR FY 2023 LATE SECOND HALF RETURNING WORKERS

Effective April 13, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting petitions for workers for the late second half of fiscal year (FY) 2023, requesting employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2023. A total of 10,000 visas have been made available and are limited to returning workers who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2020, 2021, or 2022, regardless of country of nationality. Additionally, these visas are only afforded to U.S. businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition. Please note that irreparable harm or impending irreparable harm must be attested by the employer on a new attestation form. On December 15, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the temporary final rule to increase the numerical cap on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas for all of FY 2023. Up to 20,000 of these visas are designated for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (collectively called Northern Central American countries), and Haiti, who are exempt from the returning worker requirement. As of April 10, 2023, USCIS has received petitions requesting 11,537 workers under the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. If you are interested in submitting an H-2B petition, please schedule a consultation today with one of our experienced immigration attorneys at this link. To view the USCIS alert, click here. Source