Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

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DHS Will Make Additional H-2B Visas Available for Employment in the Second Half of FY 2022

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reduce visa wait times

An additional 35,000 H-2B visa numbers will be authorized for temporary non-agricultural employment in fiscal year (FY) 2022. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported. This H-2B cap supplement will be available to U.S. employers seeking to employ extra workers on or after 1st April 2022, through 30th September 2022. The FY 2022 omnibus spending law, which was enacted earlier this month, permits the agency to authorize  extra H-2B nonimmigrant visa numbers beyond the fiscal year statutory quota.

Of the FY 2022 supplemental visas, 23,500 will be available to returning workers who had previously been allowed H-2B status during one of the last three fiscal years. The remaining 11,500 visas will be saved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, whether they ever held H-2B status. The FY 2022 H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2022 was reached on 25th February 2022. So these FY 2022 supplemental numbers give an extra opportunity for specific H-2B employers. For the H-2B supplemental quota of 20,000 visas for the first half of FY 2022. USCIS continued to accept H-2B petitions through 31st March 2022, for H-2B positions with start dates on or before March 31, 2022.

The supplemental increase applies to FY 2022 only and doesn’t influence the H-2B program in future fiscal years.

Attestations and U.S. labor market test | H-2B Cap

As with earlier supplemental increases, employers are probably going to be required to attest. That their business is in danger of irreparable harm without the extra workers. Employers are also likely to have the option to hire workers. Who are already present in the United States in H-2B status without waiting for approval of the new petition. DHS is expected to clarify these issues when it releases filing instructions for the supplemental quota numbers.

[H-1B Initial Electronic Registration Selection Process Completed]

Employers looking for H-2B workers should test the U.S. labor market and certify in their petitions. That there are insufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available for the offered positions; and that employing H-2B workers won’t adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. The supplemental increase will mean businesses seeking new H-2B workers will need to engage in additional recruitment efforts.

Filing instructions expected soon | How to file

When the temporary final rule has been issued and is effective, eligible employers seeking cap-subject H-2B workers can file Form I-129. Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, looking for extra H-2B workers. They should submit an attestation with their petition to show their business is suffering irreparable harm. Or will suffer impending irreparable harm without a supplemental workforce.

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