Last Updated on May 12, 2024 by Anda Malescu
The H-2B visa is for US employers that encounter difficulties hiring due to shortages of US workers who are willing and able to work. The H2B visa is available only to nonagricultural workers.
1. What is H2B Visa?
The H-2B visa program allows US employers to hire foreign workers to perform temporary nonagricultural work.
Through the H2B visa program, US companies can fill positions by hiring employees from abroad on a seasonal, peak-load, intermittent or one-time occurrence temporary basis. The H-2B visa program is typically used by labor-intensive industries such as
- hospitality
- construction
- retail
- warehousing & others
The most frequently filled positions via the H2B visa program are landscaper, laborer, cook, hotel housekeeper and construction worker.
The program also establishes specific recruitment and employment standards to protect US workers. That includes requirements to advertise for the H-2B position under US Department of Labor (DOL) guidance before the position can become available to foreign workers.
Employers cannot use the H2B visa program to cut costs by hiring foreign or low-price workers; instead, they can use it to address temporary or seasonal labor shortages. Employers who would otherwise have to discontinue services due to lacking US workers can use the H2B visas to hire workers from other countries and continue to operate.
2. H2B Visa Benefits
The H2B Visa Benefits are:
- You can work in the US temporarily.
- You can bring your dependent spouse and children to the US.
- You can travel outside the US.
- You can change jobs or transfer to a new employer if you have a new job offer and a new petition approved.
3. H2B Visa Requirements
The H-2B visa requirements are split into two categories:
- H-2B visa requirements for employers.
- H-2B visa requirements for employees.
The burden is typically on the US employers to meet the H-2B requirements, while employees only need to meet very few requirements for the H-2B visa.
The most important H-2B requirement for a worker is to have a passport from one of the countries participating in the H-2B visa program and have the experience, training or education required for the job. Regarding the latter, for example, if the H-2B job requires six months of experience as a retail store manager, then you must be able to prove that you have the required experience for the job.
However, before discussing the H-2B visa requirements in detail, it is important to understand the H-2B visa program.
The H-2B visa allows US companies that meet the H-2B visa requirements to bring employees from abroad to fill temporary positions for nonagricultural labor in the United States.
The period of authorized stay in the US for foreign workers varies based on the temporary needs of individual employers. Still, in most cases, the workers are authorized to stay in the US between 6 to 10 months.
The visa is suitable for workers in the construction, hospitality, retail, warehousing, fish processing, landscaping and other industries that experience temporary surges in demand or seasonality.
66,000 H-2B visas are available each fiscal year, from October to September of the following year. Further, the fiscal year is divided into two halves, with the first starting on October 1 and the second half starting on April 1. 33,000 H-2B visas are available for each half.
In recent years, the US government has allocated additional H-2B visas for returning H-2B workers for the second half of the fiscal year (April to October), which encompasses the summer months when most of the demand for temporary labor is.
Some of those additional H-2B visas were reserved for Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala citizens to help alleviate poverty and reduce illegal immigration to the US.
To qualify for H-2B visas, employers who wish to sponsor and employees who wish to work in the US must meet several H-2B visa requirements laid out by the agencies involved with administering the program. Those agencies are the US Department of Labor, US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the US consulates abroad, which issue the visas.
4. What are the H-2B Visa Requirements?
The H-2B visa requirements for US employers are numerous and stringent, as the employer has the burden to prove that they have a temporary, not permanent, need for labor and that they could not find US workers willing and able to fill the need. The H-2B visa requirements for employees are far less stringent.
A. What are the H-2B visa requirements for employers?
The H-2B visa requirements for employers are:
- Recruitment. Employers must prove that there are not enough US workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work. An employer must conduct recruitment as directed by the Department of Labor, including posting the job on national and state government career websites and submitting a detailed recruitment report after a specified period.
- Obtain Prevailing Wage Determination from DOL. US employers who want to sponsor foreign H-2B workers must prove that employing foreign will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers. Employers need to obtain a Prevailing Wage Determination from the Department of Labor, which specifies the minimum wage an H-2B employer has to offer the worker.
- Temporary need. Another H-2B visa requirement is that the employer has to prove that the need for the foreign worker’s services is temporary, regardless of whether the underlying job can be described as temporary. Employer’s need can be considered temporary only if it falls under one of the following needs for labor as defined by the US government.
- One-time occurrence – An employer can claim a one-time occurrence if it has an employment situation that is otherwise permanent, but a temporary event of short duration has created the need for a temporary worker or if the employer has not employed workers to perform the service or labor in the past and will not need workers to perform the services or labor in the future
- Seasonal need – An employer can claim a seasonal need if the service or labor it seeks workers is traditionally tied to a year’s season by a recurring event or pattern. For example, summer tourist season on the Jersey shore or crab season in Alaska. It is important to note that an employer cannot claim seasonal needs because its permanent employees are on vacation.
- Peak load need – An employer who claims a peak load need must show that it (1) regularly employs permanent workers to perform the services or labor at the place of employment, (2) the need is to temporarily supplement permanent staff due to an increased seasonal or short-term demand, and (3) the temporary H-2B visa workers will not become part of the employer’s regular operation.
- Intermittent need – to show intermittent need, an employer must prove that it (1) has not employed permanent workers to perform the services or labor in question and that (2) occasionally or intermittently needs temporary workers to perform services or labor for short periods.
In practice, employers must satisfy the following H-2B visa requirements:
- The employer’s need for workers must be one-time, seasonal, peak-load or intermittent
- The job must be for less than 12 months unless it is based on a one-time occurrence, in which case it can be up to 3 years
- There are no qualified and willing US workers available for the job
- The employer must have the ability to pay the minimum wage for the job
B. What are the H-2B visa requirements for employees?
Workers who wish to take on a temporary job in the United States need to meet the following H-2B visa requirements:
- The employee must be a citizen of a country that is eligible for the H-2B visa program. The latest list of H-2B visa-eligible countries can be found here.
- The employee has a valid job offer from a US employer to perform temporary or seasonal nonagricultural work.
- The employee has to actually meet the requirements for an H-2B visa job as described on the approved petition. The US consulate where the visa is issued might seek to validate past work experience and/or licenses.
- The worker intends to return to their home country once their H-2B visa expires. This is a standard requirement for most nonimmigrant visas for the US.
One important aspect is that the employer can bring many H2B employees on a single filing for the same position and dates of employment.
Moreover, bringing H2B employees to the US can be competitive and requires forward planning because there is a 33,000 cap for the first half of fiscal year (October 1 to March 31) and 33,000 for the second half of fiscal year (April 1 to September 30). However, often, the U.S. government increases the cap by adding additional visas for H2B employees during a fiscal year.
The H2B employees can only work non-agricultural jobs and must be citizens of one of the countries participating in the H2B Program as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Suppose the H2B employee is not a national of one of the countries included in the H2B program. In that case, the company can seek a determination from the Secretary of Homeland Security that it is in the interest of the United States for the H2B employee to be the beneficiary of the H2B petition.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may approve H2B petitions for nationals of countries not on the list on a case-by-case basis.
It is important to keep in mind that the H2B employee can only work non-agricultural jobs. If your company requires workers in agricultural positions you can consider sponsoring an H2A employee.
5. How to hire H2B visa workers?
However, if you are a US employer with a need to hire H2B employees for your company, here is how to get an H2B employee:
- Check the countries participating in the H2B program. You can only fill positions with H2B employees who are citizens of countries participating in the H2B program, or otherwise, you will need to meet additional criteria to obtain a determination from the Secretary of Homeland Security that sponsoring the H2B employee is in the interest of the United States. There are currently about 80 countries participating in the H2B but check the latest list here because oftentimes, countries are added or taken off the list. For example, Belize or Haiti participated in the H2B program but were excluded in 2018. In practical terms, you should get H2B employees who are citizens of countries eligible to participate in the H2B program.
- Use foreign recruiters or recruit H2B employees on your own. You can use U.S. and foreign recruiters to assist with recruiting H2B employees for jobs in your company, but you can also find H2B workers on your own through word of mouth. Each fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) publishes a list of foreign recruiters that U.S. companies have used in the past to recruit H2B employees. Still, the DOL does not endorse any of the foreign agents or recruiters on the list. The list is for information purposes only and is used to assist the DOL with enforcing recruitment violations. To consult the Foreign Labor Recruiter List, you can access the official website here. While the published foreign recruiter list can be a great start in your company’s H2B recruitment efforts, you can also use any other U.S. or foreign companies to assist you in recruiting H2B employees for open positions, and you can also search for H2B workers on your own.
- Submit Request for Prevailing Wage Determination with DOL. After you have located a U.S. or foreign recruiter to assist you with finding H2B employees or you have found H2B employees on your own, then you can submit a Request for Prevailing Wage Determination (Form ETA-9141) with the DOL for the position for which you seek H2B employees in the area of employment. Obtaining a prevailing wage from the DOL for the prospective occupation is required in order to comply with the requirement that hiring foreign H2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers comparably employed. As a US employer, you must pay the H2B employee at least the prevailing wage rate determined by the DOL throughout his or her employment. Generally, it can take approximately 1 month to obtain a prevailing wage determination, but waiting times may vary.
- Submit Application for Temporary Employment Certification and Job Order. Next, you must submit the Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA-9142B) with the DOL and the Job Order with the State Workforce Agency 90 to 75 days before the date the H2B employee starts his or her job. As part of the submission, the employer must state the nature of the temporary need for the H2B employees – one-time occurrence, seasonal, peak load or intermittent – and the total number of H2B employees it needs. No restrictions exist on the number of H2B employees a company can request. Still, the DOL can limit the number of employees during the certification process and issue a partial certification. Keep in mind that generally, you must receive the prevailing wage determination from the DOL before being able to submit these documents, and the timeframe in which you can file these documents is strict. However, in emergency situations you may be able to submit these documents before you have received the prevailing wage determination. If you are an employer who is petitioning for one or more musicians from Canada that will be employed within a 50 mile radius from the U.S.-Canada border for 30 days or less, then you do not need to apply for Temporary Employment Certification or submit a Job Order.
- Submit Petition for H2B Nonimmigrant Worker with USCIS. If the DOL approves the Temporary Employment Certification (also known as the temporary labor certification) for H2B employees, you must file the Petition for H2B Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) with USCIS. On the H2B Petition, you can list the total number of H2B employees approved by the DOL on the Temporary Employment Certification. Still, the total number of workers requested at USCIS should not exceed the number of H2B workers certified by the DOL.
- H2B employees outside of the United States must apply for a visa and/or admission. If the USCIS approves the H2B Petition, then the prospective H2B employees who are outside of the United States must visit a U.S. consulate abroad to obtain a visa and then travel to the U.S. In the case of H2B employees from Canada where a visa is not required, the employees can seek admission directly with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a U.S. port of entry.
6. Temporary Need for H2B Visa
The H-2B visa is for foreign workers coming to the United States temporarily to engage in nonagricultural services or labor that is based on the US employer’s seasonal, intermittent, peak load, or one-time need.
To qualify for H2B visa, a company’s temporary need for H2B workers must be:
- Seasonal
- Peakload
- Intermittent, or
- One-time need
Only certain positions can be filled by H-2B workers. It is often inappropriate to temporarily fill permanent positions, such as university chairs, professors, or lecturers, with H-2B workers. However, the H-2B job opportunity may be professional, skilled, or unskilled.
Similarly, an H-2B visa is unavailable for foreign nationals employed on board cruises to nowhere to conduct gambling in waters outside the US and foreign territory.
The positions have to be temporary in nature and the company’s need for H-2B workers must fall under one of the temporary needs:
- One-time occurrence. To establish a one-time occurrence, the employer must show that it has not employed workers in the past to perform the service or labor and will not need workers to perform the services in the future or has an employment situation that is otherwise permanent, but a temporary event of short duration has created the need for a temporary worker.
Some examples of H2B visas approved for one-time occurrence include: (1) a production manager for a new technology being introduced to US operations was approved for a one-time occurrence where his duties involved setting up and training personnel, rather than managing on an ongoing basis, (2) an artisan was granted H-2B status to continue to engrave and install religious artifacts in a temple being built by the petitioner or (3) 15 electricians were permitted to fulfill the petitioner’s contractual obligation.
- Seasonal. To claim seasonal need, the employer must establish that the service or labor for which it seeks workers is traditionally tied to a season of the year by an event or pattern and is of a recurring nature. The employer cannot claim seasonal needs if the need is unpredictable, subject to change or when permanent employees are on vacation. Seasonal needs can be used to staff establishments during peak season, such as hotels during tourist season.
Some examples of approved H-2B visas seasonal needs include (1) dining staff and servers at California and New Jersey resorts for the summer season, (2) ski instructors for ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains, or (3) summer lifeguards in the coastal regions.
- Peakload. To establish peakload need, the employer must show that it regularly employs permanent workers to perform the services or labor at the place of employment and it needs to supplement an otherwise permanent workforce due to seasonal or temporary pick-up in demand under the condition that the temporary H2B workers will not become part of the employer’s regular operation.
H-2B visa for peakload need is appropriate if, for example, a toy manufacturing company makes a product that has suddenly surpassed all sales predictions and expectations. In this case, the company may be able to demonstrate that it has a peakload need for assembly-line workers to meet its unprecedented production demands for the Christmas season.
Another example of peakload need is a trucking company that is experiencing an increased demand for commercial truck drivers due to surging customer demand, as was the case during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
- Intermittent. Intermittent need is for employers who have not employed permanent or full-time employees in the past to perform a certain job but occasionally or intermittently need temporary workers to perform the work for short periods.
An example of a successful H-2B visa petition for intermittent need is a sports jersey manufacturer that requires apparel workers when recurrent surges in production occur around major sporting events (such as the Super Bowl).
Other successful examples of an H-2B visa include a petition on behalf of a foreign national actor whose services were needed to reshoot movie scenes that had been previously filmed or an H-2B visa petition for foreign nationals who needed to “participate in musical performances” with a nonprofit educational organization.
7. Who is eligible for H2B Visa?
Any US employer with a one-time, seasonal, peakload or intermittent need for workers and otherwise meets the H-2B visa requirements is eligible for the H2B visa.
Regarding employees, any worker from one of the countries participating in the H-2B visa program that meets the requirements for the job can be eligible for H2B visa.
8. H2B Visa Countries
To qualify for an H2B visa, you must be a national of a country eligible to participate in the H2B Visa program.
The H2B Visa Countries in 2024 (not in alphabetical order) are:
| H2B Visa Countries | ||
| Andorra | Haiti | Papua New Guinea |
| Argentina | Honduras | Peru |
| Australia | Hungary | Philippines |
| Austria | Iceland | Poland |
| Barbados | Ireland | Portugal |
| Belgium | Israel | Romania |
| Brazil | Italy | Saint Lucia |
| Brunei | Jamaica | San Marino |
| Bulgaria | Japan | Serbia |
| Canada | Kiribati | Singapore |
| Chile | Latvia | Slovakia |
| Colombia | Liechtenstein | Slovenia |
| Costa Rica | Lithuania | Solomon Islands |
| Croatia | Luxembourg | South Africa |
| Republic of Cyprus | North Macedonia | South Korea |
| Czech Republic | Madagascar | Spain |
| Denmark | Malta | St. Vincent and Grenadines |
| Dominican Republic | Mauritius | Sweden |
| Ecuador | Mexico | Switzerland |
| El Salvador | Mongolia | Taiwan |
| Estonia | Montenegro | Thailand |
| Fiji | Mozambique | Timor-Leste |
| Finland | Nauru | Turkey |
| France | Netherlands | Ukraine |
| Germany | Nicaragua | United Kingdom |
| Greece | New Zealand | Uruguay |
| Grenada | Norway | Vanuatu |
| Guatemala | Panama | Bolivia |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | The Kingdom of Eswatini | Monaco |
| Tuvalu |
9. How to apply for H2B Visa?
The H2B visa application process establishes certain recruitment and displacement standards to protect US workers. The application process to obtain an H2B Visa starts with the US employer.
To apply for an H2B Visa for workers, the employer must take the following steps:
- Submit a Labor Certification Application
- Submit form I-129 to USCIS
- H2B workers apply for visas at the US Consulate
A. Submit a Labor Certification application
To hire H2B workers as a US employer, you must first obtain a temporary labor certification from the DOL. The temporary labor certification sets wage requirements and employment standards to make sure the incoming H2B workers do not displace US workers.
To submit a Labor Certification Application with DOL, you must have a prevailing wage determination issued. For emergency filings, you are not required to have the prevailing wage determination issued before submission.
The Department of Labor uses the prevailing wage determination to ensure that the employer does not pay wages lower than the prevailing wage for a given occupation in the geographic area of employment. The prevailing wage for a specified geographic location for an occupation is determined based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and other sources.
After the prevailing wage determination, you submit the temporary labor certification application and the job order. If DOL certifies the temporary labor application, you must complete the recruitment of US workers within 14 calendar days from the date the Notice of Acceptance of the labor certification application is issued. However, the employer must accept referrals and applications of all US applicants until 21 days before the employer’s start date.
B. Submit form I-129 to USCIS
If DOL approves the labor certification, you must petition USCIS on form I-129 to request H2B workers to be admitted to the US.
If the job duties and position are the same, you can file one petition with USCIS for more than one H2B worker. Also, the petition does not need to specify the names of the H2B workers, and you can actively recruit abroad or make last-minute changes to the list of employees. However, the H2B workers must be from H2B visa countries approved by the US Department of State.
Generally, a company can request unnamed H2B workers on an I-129 petition filed with USCIS, but in certain situations,, the employer must provide the names of the H-2B workers. The employer can also request some named and some unnamed workers as long as the employer requests the same action for each worker.
C. H2B workers apply for visa at the US Consulate
After USCIS approves the petition, the H2B workers can apply for H2B visas at their local US Consulate to schedule an interview and obtain a valid H2B visa stamp on their passports.
Alternatively, if the H2B workers are in the US, they can change their status to H2B while in the United States on form I-129 filed with USCIS.
Canadian citizens can skip the visa interview process, show up directly at a port of entry, and present their documents to a CBP officer.
10. How to get an H2B Visa?
If you are a worker, to get an H2B visa, you must be from one of the countries participating in the H-2B visa program, have a job offer from a US employer and meet the minimum requirements for the job. Once you have this, you can apply for an H-2B visa at your nearest US Consulate by submitting form DS-160 and attending a visa interview. If the consular officer approves your H2B visa, the US Consulate will put an H2B visa stamp on your passport.
If you are an employer, to get H2B visas for your employees, you must establish eligibility and obtain an approved labor certification from DOL and an H-2B petition from USCIS. This involves a number of steps and following rigorous rules and strict deadlines. If you are interested in the H-2B visa, it is recommended that you contact an immigration lawyer immediately to discuss your case.
11. How does the H2B Visa work?
The H2B visa allows US employers to get foreign workers to work in the United States jobs for which the employer has a one-time, seasonal, peakload or intermittent need. The employer’s need for H2B workers is typically recurring yearly, and employers can participate in the program yearly. Employees on H-2B visa can also come to the US every year to work or can extend their stay in the United States to work for employers with approved petitions.
12. How long does the H2B Visa process take?
For employers, the H2B visa process takes about 4 to 6 months, including obtaining a prevailing wage determination, conducting the recruitment, obtaining a labor condition application and approval from USCIS.
If you are an employer interested in the H2B visa, we recommend that you speak with an H-2B visa lawyer well in advance or as soon as possible. The H2B visa process has strict deadlines employers must follow, and if you do not meet them, you will not be able to take advantage of the H2B visa program and bring foreign workers for the season.
13. What is the H2B Visa Processing Time?
H2B petitions are processed between 75 to 90 days before the start date of employment. DOL will return H2B petitions filed more than 90 days before the worker is needed.
14. How long can I stay in the US on an H2B Visa?
As an H2B worker, you can stay in the US for the validity period of the H2B petition plus up to 10 days before the start date of the approved H2B petition and ten days after the expiration date.
After your H2B visa expires, you can stay up to 10 days in the US unless you apply for an H2B visa extension or change your status.
The H2B visa can be extended in 1 year increments, but the total stay cannot exceed three years. Each H2B visa renewal requires a new and valid temporary labor certification covering the requested time.
A worker who holds H-2B status or L or H status for three years must depart and remain outside the US for three months before being able to come back as an H2B worker.
15. How long does an H2B visa last?
Generally, an H2B visa lasts anywhere from 6 to 10 months, and an extension of stay can be obtained. You can extend your stay in the United States on an H2B visa for up to 3 years.
16. Can H-2B visa be extended?
The answer is yes, H-2B visa can be extended with the same or a different employer. Before discussing how to extend the H-2B visa, it is important to understand the H-2B visa.
H2B visa allows US companies to bring employees from abroad to fill temporary positions in the United States based on a seasonal, peakload, intermittent or one-time occurrence need. The most frequently filled positions via the H2B visa program are landscaper, laborer, cook, and hotel housekeeper.
To secure H-2B visas, a US employer must:
- Obtain a Temporary Labor Certification from the US Department of Labor (DOL), which includes the following steps:
- Obtain a Prevailing Wage Determination from DOL, which sets the minimum wage for the position advertised for the H-2B position under DOL guidance
- Apply with DOL describing the services to be performed, and wages offered, showing that the position is temporary in nature and fits within one of DOL’s defined temporary needs – seasonal, peakload, intermittent or one-time occurrence.
- Submit a petition with US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) on form I-129 to request H2B workers to be admitted to the US. The H-2B worker does not have to be named and one petition can be filed to request multiple workers.
- Workers must apply with the US consulate abroad to get H-2B visa if I-129 is approved by USCIS
There is a numerical limit of 66,000 foreign workers that can come to the U.S. each year on an H2B visa. From time to time, the US government allows for additional H-2Bs for returning workers, those who held H-2B in the past 3-years, and for citizens of Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
The length for which an H-2B visa is approved depends on the temporary need used to justify the need for workers. For example, seasonal and peakload needs typically last from 3 to 10 months when temporary workers are needed to work during an active tourist season. On the other hand, a one-time occurrence need can last up to three years per DOL, but USCIS will approve petitions for up to one year.
That leaves us with the question, can an H-2B visa be extended and how?
17. What is H-2B extension?
H-2B visa is given to workers for the time authorized on the temporary labor certification. However, USCIS states that H-2B status can be extended for qualifying employment in increments of up to 1 year each. A new temporary labor certification covering the requested time must be obtained from DOL for each extension request. The maximum period of stay in H-2B status is three years.
From the employer’s perspective, an H-2B extension means extending the temporary need for up to 1-year. The employer will have to show how the temporary need justifies such an extension. In that case the employer can continue to employ their current H-2B workforce and will not be subject to the numerical limit of 66,000 visas per fiscal year.
From the employee’s perspective, he or she can extend H-2B status not only in cases where the employer has obtained an extension to their temporary need but also by taking a job for a new employer who is also permitted to hire H-2B employees.
In cases where the H-2B visa is extended by changing employers, the new employer has to file a temporary worker petition I-129 with USCIS requesting that the employee’s H-2B status be extended for the duration of the new temporary job. For example, an H-2B visa employee can work as ski instructor for the winter season in Colorado and then change employers and extend the H-2B visa status to work as bar tender in Massachusetts for the summer season.
18. Steps to extend H-2B visa
- Obtain new Temporary Labor Certification. The employer has to repeat the same steps as the ones for obtaining the initial labor certification. The employer has to show that the temporary need will persist during the requested period of employment and be ready to provide evidence if required.
- Submit a new temporary worker I-129 petition USCIS. Unlike the initial petition, the employer will have to request an extension of stay this time. Since the H-2B worker is in the United States and the employer is requesting an extension of stay, the name of the H-2B worker must be stated in Form I-129. Form I-129 can be submitted with premium processing, meaning that for an additional fee of $1,500 USCIS processes the application in 15 days.
After submitting the petition to USCIS, If the application is approved, the USCIS will send an approval notice in Form I-797; if the application is denied, the USCIS will send a denial notice. In some cases, the USCIS may request evidence. The worker must retain the approval notice Form I-797 as evidence of his or her new H-2B status.
19. How long is the H2B visa valid?
Generally, an H2B visa is valid for 6 to 10 months, depending on the validity of the employer’s petition. In rare circumstances, the H2B visa can be valid for 12 months or up to 3 years.
The H2B visa is valid from the start date of your employment until the end date, as stated in the job advertisement. In other words, the H2B visa is valid for the duration of employment.
You also get a grace period of 10 days before the job begins and ten days after it ends.
20. How long does it take to get an H2B visa?
It usually takes a couple of weeks to get an H2B visa, depending on the specific US Consulate where you apply. Some US Consulates process H2B visas within 2 to 3 weeks from submitting your H2B visa application until you get an interview, while others can take one month or more.
21. H2B Visa Lottery
There is a limit on how many workers can come to the US each year on an H2B visa. Because there are more applications for H2B workers than visas available, there is a lottery for H2B visas.
Currently, the H-2B visa limit or “cap” is set at 66,000 H2B visas per fiscal year:
- 33,000 H2B visas are for workers who begin employment between October 1 and March 31, and
- 33,000 H2B visas are for workers who begin employment between April 1 and September 30
In unusually busy years, the US government can increase the number of H-2B visas available as it did in 2021 by adding an additional 22,000 visas. However, these supplemental H2B visas are only available to businesses that will likely suffer irreparable damage without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested.
Workers who will be employed as fish roe processors, technicians, or processing supervisors, as well as workers going to the Northern Mariana Islands or Guam, are exempt from the H2B visa lottery.
22. How much does H2B Visa Cost?
The H2B visa cost for employer is $460 with regular processing or $1,500 with premium processing, excluding legal fees. The US employer, not the H2B worker, pays for the H2B visa.
As an H2B worker, if you need to apply for an H2B Visa at the US Consulate abroad, the visa fee is $190.
Our H2B visa lawyers can assist
Despite its complexity and annual limits on the number of visas available, the H-2B visa program is highly valuable as it allows employers to address temporary labor needs by hiring foreign workers. The H-2B visa is beneficial when high demand, seasonal or peak, cannot be met by hiring only US employees.
The process includes a number of safeguards to ensure wages for US workers are not adversely impacted and foreign workers do not replace them.
If you are an employer seeking to bring workers from outside the US, contact us or schedule an appointment with our experienced H2B Visa lawyer in Miami, Florida, USA, to assist you with the H-2B visa and application process.
Malescu Law P.A. – Business & Immigration Lawyers
