The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the cap for the supplementary 20,716 H-2B visas allocated for returning workers in the initial half of fiscal year 2024, with start dates on or before March 31, 2024, as per the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule (FY 2024 TFR). The final date for petitions seeking supplemental H-2B visas under the FY 2024 first-half returning worker allocation was January 9, 2024.

Although the cap has been met for returning workers, USCIS continues to accept petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers with start dates on or before March 31, 2024. This includes the remaining 20,000 visas designated for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica (country-specific allocation), as well as those exempt from the congressionally mandated cap.

The FY 2024 TFR, effective from November 17, 2023, prompted USCIS to immediately start receiving H-2B petitions for the 20,716 returning worker allocation in the first half of FY2024, along with the 20,000 allocation for nationals of specified countries exempt from the returning worker requirement.

Petitioners whose workers were not accepted under the 20,716 returning worker allocation are encouraged to file under the country-specific allocation while visas remain available. As of January 12, 2024, USCIS has received petitions for 4,500 workers under the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

For more details on the FY 2024 supplemental visas, interested parties can refer to the information provided on the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2024 page.

Source: USCIS