August 11, 2008

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2009

On July 30, 2008 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that that cap of 33,000 H-2B nonimmigrant work visas available for the first half of FY 2009 had been reached. U.S. employers in a number of industries use the H-2B visa category to fill the need for temporary or seasonal workers when there are not enough U.S. workers available.

On July 29, 2008, the USCIS received enough petitions to meet its 33,000 limit. For cases that were received on the “final receipt date” of July 29, 2008, the USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to choose petitions similar to what was done when the H-1B cap was reached on April 2, 2008. Cases that are not randomly selected, or that are received after July 29, 2008 will be rejected and the filing fees will be returned.

Employers should note that the USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are exempt from the H-2B cap, including petitions to:

• Extend the stay of a current H-2B workers in the U.S.;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-2B workers and extend their stay; or
• Allow current H-2B workers to change or add employers and extend their stay.

GT will continue to provide updates on any developments impacting the H-2B category and its availability.