H-2B visa


The H-2B visa nonimmigrant program permits employers to hire foreign workers to come temporarily to the United States and perform temporary nonagricultural services or labor on a one-time, seasonal, peakload or intermittent basis.
The H-2B visa classification requires the United States Secretary of Homeland Security to consult with appropriate agencies before admitting H-2B non-immigrants. Homeland Security regulations require that, except for Guam, the petitioning employer first apply for a temporary labor certification from the United States Secretary of Labor indicating that: there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are capable of performing the temporary services or labor at the time of filing the petition for H-2B classification and at the place where the foreign worker is to perform the work; and the employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. The Department of Labor will review and process all H-2B applications on a first in, first out basis.
Employers seeking to employ temporary H-2B workers must apply for Temporary Employment Certification to the Chicago National Processing Center. An employer may submit a request for multiple unnamed foreign workers as long as each worker is to perform the same services or labor, on the same terms and conditions, in the same occupation, in the same area of intended employment during the same period of employment. Certification is issued to the employer, not the worker, and is not transferable from one employer to another or from one worker to another.

Temporary Increases

Although capped at 66,000 per year, the H-2B numerical cap was increased in 2017 by then United States Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. These visas were made available only to American businesses which attested that they would likely suffer irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their original petition.

Statistics

Below are H-2B visas issued each year as released by the U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs.
YearTotal number of visas issued
198762
1988683
19899,575
199011,843
199114,573
199212,552
19939,691
199410,400
199511,737
199612,200
199715,706
199820,192
199930,642
200045,037
200158,215
200262,591
200378,955
200476,169
200587,492
200671,687
200760,227
200894,304
200944,847
201047,403
201150,826
201250,009
201357,600
201468,102
201569,684
201684,627
201783,600