Additional H-2B visas available

The Departments of Homeland Security and Labor yesterday announced the availability of 20,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for the first half of fiscal year 2022. These visas are for U.S. employers that are facing irreparable harm without additional workers and seeking to employ additional workers on or before March 31, 2022. This supplemental cap increase, which comes at a time of record job growth and reduced labor force participation, marks the first time that DHS is making additional H-2B visas available in the first half of the fiscal year. DHS first announced the joint temporary final rule in December 2021. The additional H-2B visas become available to employers today, January 28, 2022.