USCIS INCREASES H-2B NONIMMIGRANT VISA AVAILABILITY

On December 15, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) published a Temporary Final Rule that increases the total number of noncitizens who may receive an H-2B nonimmigrant visa to 64,716 for fiscal year (FY) 2023. Of that total, 20,000 visas are reserved for nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, or Guatemala. According to the rule, visas are only made available to “businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm, as attested by the employer on a new attestation form.” Additionally, DOL and DHS will distribute the supplemental visas in several allocations, including two separate allocations in the second half of FY 2023, in an effort to provide employers and employees the option to have more flexible start dates. DHS will allow H–2B workers who are already in the United States to begin work immediately after the worker has submitted an H–2B petition (supported by a valid temporary labor certification) that has been received by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) even before it has been approved. Provisions related to portability are only available to petitioners and H-2B nonimmigrant workers who will be starting work by January 24, 2024. For more information, view the temporary final rule here. Source