On November 17th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly published a temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit (or cap) on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas for all of fiscal year (FY) 2024. The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. Congress has established a statutory cap on the total number of noncitizens who may be issued an H-2B visa or otherwise granted H-2B status during a fiscal year, which is currently 66,000 individuals. However, in late 2023 Congress granted DHS the authority to make available additional H-2B visas for FY 2024.
While the number of aging services providers that seek to hire temporary employees through this program is limited, the increase to the caps will be welcome news for those that do use the program. Additional information, and a link to the temporary final rule, are available through this announcement from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website.
Among other details, the USCIS notes that the supplemental visas will be distributed in several allocations, including two separate allocations for the second half of FY 2024. Of the 64,716 additional visas, 44,716 are available only for returning workers (workers who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status in one of the last three fiscal years). The remaining 20,000 visas are set aside for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica (country-specific allocation) who are exempt from the returning worker requirement.
