H-2B Visa Program

As you know, the Newport County area relies heavily on seasonal workers for our summer months and this typically includes individuals coming into the United States on different types of worker visas.  I wanted to be sure you were aware of the recent announcement:  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has reached the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2018.
Dec. 15, 2017, was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2018. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Dec. 15 that request an employment start date before April 1, 2018.
USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. This includes the following types of petitions:

• Current H-2B workers in the United States petitioning to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change their employers;
• Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and,
• Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from Nov. 28, 2009, until Dec. 31, 2019.

USCIS is currently accepting cap-subject petitions for the second half of FY 2018 for employment start dates on or after April 1, 2018.

U.S. businesses use the H-2B program to employ foreign workers for temporary nonagricultural jobs. Currently, Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (Oct.1 - March 31) and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 - Sept. 30).  Please go to H-2B Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Cap Season Web page for more details.
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If you are interested in learning more about this program, its parameters, and deadlines that should be considered, please visit https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-temporary-non-agricultural-workers.  
For general information on USCIS and other programs, please visit www.uscis.gov.