H-2B Cap Count as of January 26, 2015

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its count of H-2B filing for temporary non-agricultural visas (H-2Bs) for employment for the first and second halves of FY 2015.

The congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2015 has been reached.  Jan. 26, 2015 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2015.  The final receipt date is when USCIS received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY 2015.  This means that no cap numbers from the first half of FY 2015 will carry over to the second half of FY 2015, which begins on April 1, 2015.

For the Second Half of the FY 2015 Fiscal Year, USCIS has USCIS has receipted filings on behalf of 7,018 beneficiaries toward the 33,000 H-2B cap amount.  This count includes 2,156 approved and 4,862 pending petitions.  SOURCE

USCIS places a statutory numerical limit, or “cap,” on the total number aliens that it would issue a visa or otherwise provide H-2B status to (including through a change of status) during a fiscal year.  Currently, the H-2B cap set by Congress is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 allocated for employment beginning in the 1st half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 allocated for employment beginning in the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30).  USCIS will accept filings in excess of the cap because of denials or withdrawn petitions and because employers may in the end employ fewer H-2B beneficiaries than shown in their petitions.