jobs

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has closed the regular H-2B visa cap for the second half of fiscal year 2026, confirming that employers submitted enough petitions to use the standard supply of seasonal, non-agricultural worker visas for jobs beginning from April through September. The agency’s alert said the cap-subject filing cutoff had already arrived by the time the announcement was made: March 10, 2026, was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting employment start dates on or after April 1, 2026, and before Oct. 1, 2026. New cap-subject petitions received after that date for the same employment window are to be rejected, unless they qualify for an exemption from the cap. ([aila.org](https://www.aila.org/library/uscis-announces-h-2b-cap-reached-for-2nd-half-of-fy26-filing-dates-for-supplemental-visa-allocation))

The update underscores the speed and intensity of demand in a visa category used by U.S. employers with temporary labor needs outside agriculture. H-2B filings are employer-driven: workers do not simply apply on their own for an open slot, and employers must move through labor certification and immigration petition steps before a worker can receive H-2B status or seek a visa abroad. The Department of Labor describes H-2B as a temporary non-agricultural program that allows qualifying U.S. employers to hire nonimmigrant workers to perform temporary services or labor based on the employer’s temporary need. ([flag.dol.gov](https://flag.dol.gov/index.php/programs/H-2B?utm_source=openai))

Standard second-half cap has closed

The H-2B statutory cap is divided across the federal fiscal year. The annual cap is 66,000, with 33,000 visas generally available for workers whose employment begins in the first half of the fiscal year, Oct. 1 through March 31, and 33,000 for workers whose employment begins in the second half, April 1 through Sept. 30. Immigration law firms tracking the announcement noted that USCIS accepts filings beyond the exact cap number in order to account for withdrawals, revocations, denials and cases in which employers ultimately use fewer workers than requested. ([fragomen.com](https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-h-2b-cap-reached-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-availability-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-supplemental-h-2b-visas-remains.html))

For the second half of FY 2026, USCIS said the regular cap had been met and identified March 10 as the last day on which it received new cap-subject petitions for the April 1 to Sept. 30 employment period. That date matters because H-2B cases are tied to requested employment start dates, not merely to the day a company begins preparing its paperwork. A petition received after the final receipt date for a cap-subject worker in that employment window is not held in reserve under the regular cap; USCIS said it will reject such filings. ([aila.org](https://www.aila.org/library/uscis-announces-h-2b-cap-reached-for-2nd-half-of-fy26-filing-dates-for-supplemental-visa-allocation))

The closure does not mean every H-2B-related filing is barred for the rest of the fiscal year. USCIS continues to accept petitions that are exempt from the numerical cap, including certain petitions involving current H-2B workers seeking to extend their stay, change employers, or change the terms of their H-2B employment. Earlier USCIS reporting also identifies other cap-exempt categories, such as H-2B workers already counted toward the cap in the same fiscal year, certain fish roe workers and supervisors, and certain workers in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands through the applicable statutory period. ([fragomen.com](https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-h-2b-cap-reached-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-availability-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-supplemental-h-2b-visas-remains.html))

Supplemental visas offer limited remaining paths

Alongside the cap announcement, USCIS pointed employers to filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2026. Those supplemental visas come from a temporary final rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor, published in the Federal Register on Feb. 3, 2026. The rule authorized up to 64,716 additional H-2B visas for FY 2026, above the regular 66,000 statutory cap, for eligible employers that attest they are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the additional workers. The rule defines that harm in terms of permanent and severe financial loss. ([regulations.justia.com](https://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2026/02/03/2026-02131.html?utm_source=openai))

The supplemental increase is not a single open pool. DHS and DOL divided the FY 2026 visas into allocations tied to employment start dates and, for part of the supply, to whether the worker is a returning H-2B worker. Under the temporary rule, up to 46,226 of the 64,716 supplemental visas are limited to returning workers, meaning workers who were issued H-2B visas or otherwise granted H-2B status in fiscal years 2023, 2024, or 2025. The remaining allocation applies to workers of any nationality regardless of returning-worker status, but it is linked to later start dates. ([regulations.justia.com](https://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2026/02/03/2026-02131.html?utm_source=openai))

The first returning-worker supplemental allocation, covering 18,490 visas for requested employment start dates from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2026, had already closed before the second-half cap alert. Fragomen reported that USCIS confirmed the agency received enough petitions for that first allocation as of Feb. 6, 2026. That left attention focused on the second and third supplemental allocations, which were the filing windows USCIS referenced in its cap announcement for employers still seeking FY 2026 workers. ([fragomen.com](https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-h-2b-cap-reached-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-availability-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-supplemental-h-2b-visas-remains.html))

Second and third allocation deadlines

For employers with a date of need from April 1 through April 30, 2026, the second returning-worker allocation made 27,736 supplemental visas available, limited to returning workers of any nationality. The filing window opened March 25, 2026, and employers were required to file no later than April 23, 2026, according to the filing schedule cited by immigration counsel after USCIS posted the relevant dates. This allocation was separate from the standard second-half cap, even though it served employers with April start dates. ([fragomen.com](https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-h-2b-cap-reached-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-availability-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-supplemental-h-2b-visas-remains.html))

For employers with later seasonal needs, the third FY 2026 supplemental allocation made 18,490 visas available for requested employment start dates from May 1 through Sept. 30, 2026. Unlike the first two returning-worker allocations, this third group was available to workers of any nationality regardless of whether they had previously held H-2B status, according to the filing schedule summarized by Fragomen. USCIS was to begin accepting petitions for this group on April 24, 2026, with a filing deadline of Sept. 15, 2026. ([fragomen.com](https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-h-2b-cap-reached-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-availability-for-second-half-of-fy-2026-supplemental-h-2b-visas-remains.html))

The temporary rule also places an outer limit on the FY 2026 supplemental authority. DHS stated that the authority to approve H-2B petitions under the FY 2026 supplemental cap expires at the end of the fiscal year and that USCIS will not approve petitions filed in connection with that supplemental authority on or after Oct. 1, 2026. Fragomen likewise noted that pending petitions not approved before Oct. 1, 2026, would be denied and fees would not be refunded. ([regulations.justia.com](https://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2026/02/03/2026-02131.html?utm_source=openai))

How the H-2B process works

The H-2B program requires more than an employer’s statement that it needs help. The Department of Labor says employers generally file a job order and an H-2B application within 75 to 90 days before the date of need, submitting Form ETA-9142B and related materials to the Office of Foreign Labor Certification. DOL also posts the job opportunity electronically, and the labor certification process is designed to test whether U.S. workers are available and whether hiring H-2B workers would adversely affect wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. ([dol.gov](https://www.dol.gov/index.php/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/h-2b?utm_source=openai))

Employers must show that the need for the labor is temporary, even if the job duties themselves resemble work that exists in the broader economy year-round. Federal regulations recognize four types of temporary need for H-2B purposes: a one-time occurrence, a seasonal need, a peakload need, or an intermittent need. That distinction is central to the program because H-2B is not a permanent hiring channel and is separate from H-2A, the visa category used for temporary agricultural labor. ([law.cornell.edu](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/20/655.6?utm_source=openai))

The compliance obligations continue after recruitment and certification. The Department of Labor says H-2B employers must offer required wages, may not seek or receive payment from workers for costs tied to obtaining the labor certification, and may not place H-2B workers outside the area of intended employment or in an occupation not listed on the approved application unless a new approved application is obtained. USCIS also noted in its announcement that U.S. workers, H-2B workers and others can submit tips, alleged violations and information about potential fraud or abuse through the agency’s online tip form. ([dol.gov](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/78-h2b-overview?utm_source=openai))

The March 2026 cap notice therefore leaves employers in three different positions. Those whose standard cap-subject petitions were received by March 10 remained within the regular second-half cap process. Those who missed that cutoff could look only to a cap exemption or to an applicable supplemental allocation, if their case met the worker, start-date and attestation rules. And employers planning future seasons received another reminder that H-2B timing is unforgiving: labor certification, USCIS filing, visa availability and start-date rules all have to align before temporary workers can be placed on the job. ([aila.org](https://www.aila.org/library/uscis-announces-h-2b-cap-reached-for-2nd-half-of-fy26-filing-dates-for-supplemental-visa-allocation))