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Work & skilled workersEffectiveCritical impactVerified

Cap Reached for Second Allocation of Returning Worker H-2B Visas for Fiscal Year 2026

🇺🇸 United StatesWork Permits2 recorded versionsLast change 11 Sept 2026
ConfidenceVery high · 100%

Current rules

USCIS has reached the statutory H-2B numerical cap for the first half of FY 2027. New petitions seeking H-2B workers subject to that cap can no longer be used to obtain a first-half FY 2027 allocation once USCIS's cap procedures take effect. The H-2B programme has long been subject to a statutory annual cap. The standard statutory limit is 66,000 H-2B workers per fiscal year, divided between the first and second halves of the fiscal year, with 33,000 visas allocated to each half. Workers returning in certain circumstances and workers in other statutory exemption categories are not counted against the cap.

Overview

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the cap for the second allocation of H-2B returning worker visas for Fiscal Year 2026 has been reached. This allocation included an additional 27,736 visas for workers with start dates between 1 April and 30 April 2026. The original H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule, announced on 30 January 2026, made up to 64,716 additional visas available.

Who is affected by the latest change

  • Employers who want to hire H-2B nonimmigrant workers for jobs starting before 1 April 2027
  • People whose H-2B petitions were filed on or after 5 September 2026 for jobs before 1 April 2027

What changed in the latest version

Before

Before the H-2B visa cap was reached, employers could apply for H-2B visas that counted towards the cap. These applications were for workers whose jobs were planned to start during the first six months of the 2027 financial year. Employers had to apply within the correct timeframe and meet all requirements. They also depended on visas still being available under the legal limit, called the statutory cap. The H-2B programme already had a yearly limit on the number of workers. The USCIS announcement does not create a new cap. It simply confirms that USCIS has now used up all the available H-2B visas for the first half of the 2027 financial year.

After

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the legal limit, called the statutory H-2B numerical cap, for the first half of the 2027 financial year. New petitions for H-2B workers that count towards this cap can no longer get a visa for the first half of the 2027 financial year. This applies once USCIS starts its cap procedures. The H-2B programme has always had a legal yearly limit. The standard legal limit is 66,000 H-2B workers per financial year. This number is split, with 33,000 visas for the first six months and 33,000 for the second six months. Some workers do not count towards the cap. This includes workers returning under certain conditions and workers in other legal exemption categories.

This policy change means fewer H-2B visas are available. This affects employers who plan to hire temporary workers for non-agricultural jobs for the first half of the 2027 financial year. Employers who did not apply for H-2B visas by 4 September 2026 cannot get H-2B workers for jobs starting before 1 April 2027. These employers might need to find other ways to staff their jobs or delay hiring. This would be until the cap opens for the second half of the financial year. Prospective H-2B workers, whose petitions were not filed in time, also cannot get jobs for this period.

Explained simply

Imagine there's a limited number of special 'work tickets' (H-2B visas) that businesses can get for seasonal workers in the U.S. The government has announced that all the tickets for jobs starting before April 2027 have now been claimed. If a business tried to ask for one of these tickets after 4 September 2026, their request will be turned down because there are no more left for that period.

Frequently asked

Version history

  1. v7Effective 11 Sept 2026EffectiveCritical impact
    USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2027

    Follows v6 · Cap Reached for Second Allocation of Returning Worker H-2B Visas for Fiscal Year 2026

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on 11 September 2026 that it has received enough petitions for the H-2B visa programme. This means USCIS has reached the legal limit, called the statutory cap, for the first six months of the financial year (FY) 2027. The last day to accept new H-2B visa petitions that count towards this cap, and that ask for a job to start before 1 April 2027, was 4 September 2026. USCIS will send back any new petitions received after this date that ask for a job to start before 1 April 2027. This change affects temporary jobs in the United States that are not in agriculture.

  2. v6Effective 29 Apr 2026AnnouncementHigh impact
    Cap Reached for Second Allocation of Returning Worker H-2B Visas for Fiscal Year 2026

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on 29 April 2026 that it has received enough petitions to reach the limit for the second group of 27,736 extra H-2B visas. These visas were for workers who had been in the H-2B programme before and whose jobs were due to start between 1 April and 30 April 2026. USCIS stopped taking petitions for this extra group of visas on 21 April 2026. This limit applied to U.S. businesses with needs for seasonal or temporary workers. These businesses had to state that they would suffer serious harm if they did not get these workers, or that this harm was about to happen.

Timeline

  1. Announced

    11 Sept 2026

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it received a sufficient number of petitions to meet the H-2B visa cap for the first half of fiscal year 2027. Consequently, the agency will reject any new cap-subject H-2B petitions seeking an employment start date before 1 April 2027 that were received after 4 September 2026. This action impacts employers seeking to bring H-2B workers

  2. Takes effect

    4 Sept 2026

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally established H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2027. New cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before 1 April 2027, received after 4 September 2026, will be rejected.

  3. Announced

    29 Apr 2026

    The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the cap for the second allocation of H-2B returning worker visas for Fiscal Year 2026 has been reached. This allocation included an additional 27,736 visas for workers with start dates between 1 April and 30 April 2026. The original H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule, announced on 30 January 2026, made up to 64,716

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