USCIS Has Reached H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2023
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On September 14, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the agency had received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers for the first half of FY 2023. September 12 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2023. Congress currently has the H-2B cap set at 66,000 visas per fiscal year with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1 - March 31) and 33,000 for workers who begin employment during the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 - September 30). USCIS will continue to accept H-2B petitions that fall under the following situations:
- Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and/or supervisors of fish roe processing
- Current H-2B workers in the United States who extend their stay, change employers, or change the terms and conditions of their employment
- Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from Nov. 28, 2009, until Dec. 31, 2029
The USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after September 12 with a requested start date before April 1, 2023.