Cap Reached for Additional Returning Worker H-2B Visas for the First Half of FY 2025

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of fiscal year 2025 with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule (FY 2025 TFR). Jan. 7, 2025 was the final receipt date for petitions requesting supplemental H-2B visas under the FY 2025 first half returning worker allocation.

We are still accepting petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, for the additional 20,000 visas allotted for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras (country-specific allocation), as well as those who are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap.

The FY 2025 TFR was published on Dec. 2, 2024, with an immediate effective date. We immediately began accepting H-2B petitions with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, for the 20,716 returning worker allocation for the first half of FY 2025, and the 20,000 allocation for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras who are exempt from the returning worker requirement.

Petitioners with start dates on or before March 31, 2025, whose workers were not accepted for the 20,716 returning worker allocation are encouraged to file under the country-specific allocation while visas remain available. As of Jan. 7, 2025, we have received petitions requesting 3,678 workers under the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.

Additional information on the FY 2025 supplemental visas is available on the Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2025 page.