Update from Washington: Employer's Preview of Immigration Restrictions from the Administration
On March 25, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2025 was met on March 5, 2025. ...more
The H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker visa programs has traditionally been the “go to” visa option for employers seeking to hire foreign nationals coming to the United States to fill non-professional or non-degreed...more
On July 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published the list of randomized H-2B applications that were submitted between the filing window of July 3-5, 2024. The 2,158 applications submitted in this filing window...more
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that as of March 7, 2024, the H-2B cap had been reached for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2024....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that as of January 9, 2024, the additional returning H-2B worker allotment of 20,716 visas for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2024 (October 1, 2023, to...more
The U.S. Department of Labor recently distributed randomized H-2B group assignments. In the past, there have been a sufficient number of visas reserved for Group A to meet the initial visa cap of 33,000. Group A and Group B...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that as of October 11, 2023, the H-2B cap for nonagricultural workers had been reached for the first half of fiscal year 2024....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that as of March 30, 2023, the supplemental H-2B cap for returning workers had been reached for the early second half of fiscal year (FY) 2023. As part...more
On March 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified the public that the 33,000 H-2B cap positions within the second half of the fiscal year had been reached. DHS indicated that the number of positions...more
It’s hard to believe, but it is already time to start planning for your labor needs for Spring 2023. As we know, finding, hiring, developing, and retaining adequate labor resources are some of the most vexing challenges for...more
The H-2B program is available to employers that can demonstrate a temporary need to supplement their staffs based on a one-time, seasonal, intermittent, or peak-load need basis. The program is generally used by employers with...more
On February 24, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it reached the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2021. The cap was officially reached on February 12, 2021. USCIS explained...more
On February 18, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reached the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2020. USCIS received significantly more petitions than there were H-2B visas available for...more
After a tumultuous filing period for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019, employers that rely on H-2B seasonal workers received some good news. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has agreed to issue up to...more
EEO-1 Appeal. Late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an appeal in the case that restarted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) 2016 EEO-1 wage reporting scheme. The government appealed both the...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - Partial Government Shutdown Grinds into 5th Week: The effects of the partial shutdown continue to grow in Washington and elsewhere with Federal contractors and civil servants...more
The H-2B visa program allows businesses in the United States to sponsor foreign nationals for a temporary visa to work in nonagricultural jobs. The H-2B program is popular among employers in the hospitality, tourism, and...more
On July 19, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) increased the numerical limit (or “cap”) on H-2B visas by up to 15,000 additional visas through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2017....more
Effective upon publication by the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has authorized the one-time issuance of an additional 15,000 H-2B visas for Temporary Nonagricultural...more
On May 4, 2017, Congress passed an appropriations bill to fund the federal government through Fiscal Year 2017. The bill also extended four immigration programs through September 30, 2017. These programs are E-VERIFY, the...more
On April 18, President Trump signed an Executive Order labeled the “Buy American and Hire American” initiative. Federal agencies are already subject to certain laws and regulations which require or give preference to American...more
On February 5, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued an alert reminding employers to identify “returning workers” when filing H-2B petitions for non-immigrant workers....more
USCIS announced that, as of January 26, 2015, it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated limit, or “cap” on the total number of foreign nationals who may seek a visa or otherwise...more