United States: FY 2016 H-2B Cap Is Reached

USCIS has received enough H-2B petitions to exhaust the FY 2016 cap. The agency will not accept any further H-2B petitions for employment start dates in FY 2016 unless they are exempt from the cap, but it continues to accept petitions for H-2B employment in FY 2017, which begins on October 1, 2016.

May 23, 2016

Fragomen

Immigration Alerts, Fragomen

United States: FY 2016 H-2B Cap Is Reached

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The FY 2016 quota for H-2B nonimmigrants was reached on May 12, 2016, USCIS has announced.

U SCIS will reject any new H-2B petitions that request any employment start date before October 1, 2016 and were received after May 12, 2016, but will continue to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the cap. This includes petitions for H-2B "returning workers" - those who were counted against the cap in FY 2013, 2014 or 2015 - as well as extensions of stay and changes of employer, among others. The agency will also continue to accept petitions for H-2B employment in FY 2017, which begins on October 1, 2016.

T he H-2B cap for each fiscal year is 66,000, though USCIS accepts filings in excess of this amount to account for petition withdrawals, revocations and denials, as well as cases in which employers ultimately employ fewer H-2B workers than requested in their petitions.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Worldwide.

Fragomen

Immigration Alerts, Fragomen

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, Fragomen Global LLP and affiliates, (collectively known as “Fragomen Worldwide”) is the world’s largest firm dedicated to corporate immigration, and is recognized as the leading global immigration services provider.