USCIS has reached the congressionally mandated H-2B visa cap for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2027, as announced on the USCIS Newsroom Alert.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received enough petitions to meet the congressionally established H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2027. Sept. 4, 2026 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2027. We will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Sept. 4, 2026, that request an employment start date before April 1, 2027.
Key Dates & Details
Final Receipt Date: September 4, 2026, was the last day USCIS accepted new cap-subject petitions.Employment Start Date: This limit applies to jobs with a start date before April 1, 2027.
Rejection Policy: USCIS will automatically reject any cap-subject H-2B petitions received after September 4, 2026, that request start dates prior to April 1, 2027.
Statutory Limit: The regular semi-annual cap provides 33,000 visas for the first half of the fiscal year out of the 66,000 total annual limit.
Who is Exempt from the Cap?
Not all H-2B petitions are affected by this closure. The following categories remain eligible to file:Current H-2B Workers: Workers already in the U.S. who are extending their stay, changing employers, or altering terms of employment.
Previously Counted Workers: Individuals already counted against the H-2B cap earlier in the same fiscal year.
Geographic Exemptions: Workers performing labor or services in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (through Dec. 31, 2029).
Industry Exemptions: Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, or supervisors of fish roe processing.Dependents: H-4 spouses and children of H-2B workers.
Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants
The H-2B Program
Congress created the H-2B nonagricultural temporary worker program to allow U.S. employers to bring alien workers to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs.
For more information about the H-2B program, see H-2B Non-Agricultural Workers.
What Is the H-2B Cap?
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, there is a statutory numerical limit, or “cap,” on the total number of aliens who may receive an H-2B visa, or otherwise be granted H-2B status, during a fiscal year. Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with:
- 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year, Oct. 1 through March 31; and
- 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year, April 1 through Sept. 30.
Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be available for employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. Unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year do not carry over into the next fiscal year.
Reporting H-2B Fraud
Anyone can send us tips, alleged violations, and other relevant information about potential fraud or abuse using our online tip form. This includes U.S. workers and H-2B workers who suspect they or others may be victims of H-2B fraud or abuse.
Workers Who Are Exempt from the H-2B Cap
Generally, workers in the United States in H-2B status who extend their stay, change employers, or change the terms and conditions of employment are not subject to the cap. Similarly, H-2B workers who were already counted against the cap in the same fiscal year that the proposed employment begins are not subject to the cap if the employer names them on the petition and states that they have already been counted. The spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants also do not count against this cap.
Additionally, petitions for the following types of workers are exempt from the H-2B cap:
- Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
- Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or Guam until Dec. 31, 2029.
Once the H-2B cap is reached, we may accept petitions only for H-2B workers who are exempt from or not subject to the H-2B cap.
Fiscal Year 2027 H-2B Cap Count
On Sept. 11, 2026, we announced that we had received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2027. Sept. 4, 2026 was the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2027. The “final receipt date” is the date when we determine that we received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of fiscal year 2027.
| Cap Type | Cap Amount | Beneficiaries Approved | Beneficiaries Pending | Total Beneficiaries¹ | Date of Last Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-2B: First Half of FY 2027 | 33,000 |
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On Sept. 4, 2026, the cap for the first half of FY27 was reached. |
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| H-2B: Second Half of FY 2027 | 33,000² |
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Note: The figures above are preliminary estimates and are only meant to give the public an approximate count of beneficiaries of H-2B visas who would be counted toward the INA cap for the fiscal year.
¹ Refers to the total number of beneficiaries of approved or pending petitions filed with USCIS that could potentially be counted toward the H-2B cap. This number will typically exceed the actual cap to allow for withdrawals, denials, and approvals for which no visa is issued.
² If the first half of the fiscal year cap of 33,000 H-2B visas is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, we will make those unused numbers available for use during the second half of the fiscal year. Unused fiscal year cap-subject H-2B visas do not carry over to the following fiscal year.
