May 25, 2005

USCIS Instructions on Filing for Additional H-2Bs

USCIS has issued a public notice regarding additional petitions for H-2B workers required by the "Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005." USCIS will begin accepting petitions on Wednesday, May 25, 2005.

Background

H-2B workers perform non-agricultural, seasonal or short-term tasks important to the U.S. economy and the economics of communities across the nation. U.S employers rely on the H-2B program for access to essential workers in those instances in which no U.S. workers are available. H-2B visa holders help keep the doors of American business open.

The H-2B program is capped at 66,000 visas per year. U.S. employers find it so difficult to hire willing American workers for low-skilled and semi skilled short term positions. Despite employers' efforts to recruit U.S. workers, employers find they need H-2B workers to fill these positions. In response to employers' demand for these foreign workers, the "Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005" was introduced by Senator Mikulski and Gregg.

On May 10, 2005, the United States Senate passed the conference committee version of the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005. This legislation effectively increases the number of H-2B visas available each year to U.S. employers by exempting from the statutory cap foreign employees who have worked in the U.S. under the H-2B visa program in any one of the past three years and who are returning in fiscal year 2005 or 2006. These employees will be considered "returning workers." The legislation also divides the annual allotment of H-2B visas into two portions, with 33,000 being distributed in the first half of a fiscal year and the remaining distributed in the second half.

  USCIS Public Notice (PDF/40 kb, 2 pages)