As of June 11, 2010, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has receipted 27,778 H-2B petitions, towards the 47,000 beneficiaries target for the second half of the fiscal year. This count includes 26,303 approved and 1,475 pending petitions. Beneficiaries target is the estimated number of petitions needed to reach the cap; it will always be higher than the actual cap.

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a statutory numerical limit, or “cap,” on the total number aliens who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-2B status (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 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 1st half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30). Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be made available for use by employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. There is no “carry over” of unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year to the next.

Generally, an H-2B worker who extends his/her stay in H-2B status will not be counted again against the H-2B cap. Similarly, the spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants are not counted against this cap. Additionally petitions for the following types of workers are exempt the H-2B cap:

1. Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing
2. From November 28, 2009 until December 31, 2014, workers performing labor or services in the
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (“CNMI”) and/or Guam.

Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS may only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt from the H-2B cap.