According to a USCIS’s recent announcement, in order to increase the number of H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FV) 2022 making available an additional 20,000 visas, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a joint temporary final rule.
These additional visas are for U.S. employers, claiming that they are suffering irreparable harm, or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition, and which need to fill positions starting on or before March 31, 2022.
The supplemental H-2B visa allocation includes 13,500 visas available only to returning workers receiving an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years. The rest, which is exempt from the returning worker requirement, are reserved for the nationals of Northern Central American Countries and Haiti.
Returning H-2B workers have shown their ability to abide by the H-2B program’s terms and conditions. Thus, they are less likely to remain in the United States and work without authorization after their legal status expires.
(Source: USCIS Public Engagement Division).