USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for the Second Half of Fiscal Year 2015
Archived Content
The information on this page is out of date. However, some of the content may still be useful, so we have archived the page.
On June 5, 2015, USCIS announced that it had reopened the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has now received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2015. June 11, 2015 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2015.
The final receipt date is the date when USCIS received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the statutory limit of 66,000 H-2B workers for FY 2015.
What Happens After Reaching the Cap
USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that:
- Request an employment start date before October 1, 2015; and
- Were received after June 11, 2015.
Petitions That Are Exempt from the Cap
USCIS will continue to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. These include the following types of petitions:
- H-2B workers in the United States or abroad who have been previously counted towards the cap in the same fiscal year;
- Current H-2B workers seeking an extension of stay;
- Current H-2B workers seeking a change of employer or terms of employment;
- Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
- H-2B workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam until December 31, 2019.
Additionally, the spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants are not counted against this cap.
Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS will only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt from the H-2B cap.
FY 2016 H-2B Cap Petitions
USCIS will consider H-2B petitions received on or after October 1, 2015, and/or requesting an employment start date on or after October 1, 2015, towards the FY 2016 H-2B cap. These petitions will be subject to all eligibility requirements for FY 2016 H-2B cap filings.
For more information about the H-2B work program, visit our website at uscis.gov/h-2b or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TDD for the hearing impaired: 1-800-767-1833).