DHS Announces Additional 15,000 H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Visas For FY 2018 (Video)
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced on
May 25, 2018, that an additional 15,000 H-2B temporary
nonagricultural worker visas will be available for fiscal year
2018. Secretary Nielsen said she determined that there are not
enough qualified, U.S. workers available to perform temporary
nonagricultural labor to satisfy the needs of U.S. businesses in FY
2018. This allocation is in addition to the 66,000 visas already
issued this year. She said she made this decision after consulting
with Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, members of Congress, and
business owners.
The move follows statements President Donald Trump made at a
rally on April 28, 2018, during which he said, “The
unemployment picture is so good, it’s so strong, that we have
to let people come in. They’re going to be guest workers.
They’re going to come in, they’re going to work on your
farms, we’re going to have the H-2Bs come in, we’re going
to have a lot of things happening but then they have to go
out.”
Secretary Nielsen said, “The limitations on H-2B visas were
originally meant to protect American workers, but when we enter a
situation where the program unintentionally harms American
businesses it needs to be reformed. I call on Congress to pass
much-needed reforms of the program and to expressly set the number
of H-2B visas in statute. We are once again in a situation where
Congress has passed the buck and turned a decision over to [the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)] that would be better
situated with Congress, who knows the needs of the program. As
Secretary, I remain committed to protecting U.S. workers and
strengthening the integrity of our lawful immigration system and
look forward to working with Congress to do so.” Congress set
the annual H-2B visa cap at 66,000. A maximum of 33,000 H-2B visas
are available during the first half of the fiscal year, and the
remainder, including any unused H-2B visas from the first half of
that fiscal year, is available starting April 1 through September
30. On February 27, 2018, USCIS determined that it had received a
sufficient number of H-2B petitions to meet the full FY 2018
statutory cap of 66,000.
In the FY 2018 omnibus spending bill, Congress delegated
authority to the Secretary to increase the number of temporary
nonagricultural worker visas available to U.S. employers through
September 30, just as it did in the FY 2017 omnibus bill.
Details on eligibility and filing requirements are included in
USCIS guidance at
https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/temporary-increase-h-2b-nonimmigrant-visas-fy-2018.
The May 31, 2018, Federal Register rule is at
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/31/2018-11732/exercise-of-time-limited-authority-to-increase-the-fiscal-year-2018-numerical-limitation-for-the.
The earlier DHS statement is at
https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/dhs-announces-additional-visas-foreign-workers-assist-american-businesses-risk-failing.
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