On December 2, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) published a temporary final rule (TFR) making nearly 65,000 more H-2B visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2025.  DHS has indicated that these “supplemental visas are aimed at helping U.S. employers who are unable to find U.S. workers who are available, willing, and qualified to do the temporary work in industries such as hospitality and tourism, landscaping, seafood processing, and many other sectors.” 

The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to hire non-agricultural workers to perform labor or services in the United States.  Requirements for the program include that the U.S. employer establish that the work to be performed in the United States is temporary and based on a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, peak load need, or intermittent need.  Nationals must be from a list of eligible countries designated by DHS to apply for H-2Bs.  Under the rules of the H-2B program, U.S. employers must complete a series of recruitment steps to test the U.S. labor market.  Through this test, U.S. employers must show that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to perform the temporary work for which they seek H-2B workers. 

The additional H-2B visas for FY 2025 are to include 44,716 visas for workers who received an H-2B visa or were granted H-2B status in FY 2022, FY 2023, or FY 2024, notwithstanding their nationality.  The remaining 20,000 H-2B visas are reserved for nationals of the following countries, whether or not they are returning workers: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.

The U.S. employers that seek to hire H-2B workers under the FY 2025 supplemental cap (limits) “must attest that they are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all of the H-2B workers requested on the petition.”

The additional H-2B visas will be distributed in the following allocations:

• First half of FY 2025 (Oct. 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025): 20,716 immediately available visas are limited to returning workers – those who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2022, 2023, or 2024, regardless of country of nationality.  These petitions must request employment start dates on or before March 31, 2025.

• Early second half of FY 2025 (April 1, 2025 to May 14, 2025): 19,000 visas are limited to returning workers – those who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2022, 2023, or 2024, regardless of country of nationality.  These petitions must request employment start dates from April 1, 2025 to May 14, 2025.

• Late second half of FY 2025 (May 15, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2025): 5,000 visas are limited to returning workers – those who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2022, 2023, or 2024, regardless of country of nationality.  These petitions must request employment start dates from May 15, 2025 to September 30, 2025.

• Entirety of FY 2025: 20,000 visas immediately available are reserved for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, regardless of whether those nationals are returning workers. Employers requesting an employment start date in the first half of FY 2025 may file their petitions immediately after the publication of this TFR. Employers requesting an employment start date in the second half of FY 2025 must file their petitions no earlier than 15 days after the second half statutory cap is reached.