Illustration courtesy of TarikVision/AdobeStock.

The H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2027 (FY 2027) was reached in September, leaving seasonal employers who need workers before April 1 without access to additional cap-subject visas. In response, TCIA and its partners in the H-2B Workforce Coalition are pursuing relief by urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) to make supplemental visas available now, pressing Congress for more predictable cap relief in FY 2027 appropriations and asking the administration to fix processing delays that prevent employers from getting workers on time.

The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to petition for foreign workers to fill temporary, nonagricultural jobs when American workers cannot be found. Under current law, Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 visas per fiscal year, divided into two halves to ensure visas are available for different seasonal work. This split provides up to 33,000 visas for employment from October 1 to March 31, with the remaining 33,000 available April 1 to September 30. If the first-half allocation is not fully used, the unused visas are available during the second half of the fiscal year.

H-2B Workforce Coalition seeks supplemental visas for FY 2027

In recent years, demand for H-2B visas has consistently exceeded the number available under the statutory cap.

Congress has repeatedly authorized the DHS, in consultation with the DOL, to make supplemental H-2B visas available through annual appropriations legislation. In FY 2026, DHS and DOL jointly issued a temporary final rule making an additional 64,716 H-2B visas available, subject to certain conditions and divided among allocations for different parts of the fiscal year. However, Congress has not yet enacted full-year FY 2027 appropriations. Instead, it passed a continuing resolution (CR), funding the government through December 11, that carries forward the supplemental H-2B visa authority from FY 2026. As a result, DHS/DOL already have the authority to make supplemental visas available for FY 2027 without waiting for Congress.

TCIA joined a September 22 letter led by the H-2B Workforce coalition urging DHS and DOL to make the full 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas available for FY 2027. The letter, signed by hundreds of national, regional and state organizations, also cites a 2020 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding that U.S. counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties without H-2B employers. Because the CR expires December 11, Congress will still need to determine whether supplemental H-2B visa authority continues for the remainder of FY 2027.

The coalition also is asking for a more predictable approach that would reduce employers’ reliance on annual supplemental visas. One such approach is included in the House FY 2027 Homeland Security appropriations bill. Under the bill, an employer who was approved for H-2B workers every year from FY 2022 through FY 2026 could hire up to its highest yearly number of approved workers from that period without counting against the 66,000-visa cap. Any workers beyond that number, and all workers for employers with fewer than five straight years in the program, would still count toward the cap. In a June 8 letter to the House Appropriations Committee, the coalition argued that this approach would give reliable employers the predictability they need to plan contracts, buy equipment and hire year-round American workers.

Separately, the coalition is urging the administration to address administrative and processing issues that can delay employers’ access to H-2B workers. In a September 9 letter to DHS, DOL and the Department of State, the coalition proposed a series of changes intended to make H-2B processing more timely and predictable. The letter asks the administration to establish a time-limited pilot allowing discretionary interview waivers for certain returning H-2B workers; create a transparent, expedited process for correcting erroneous U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) petition rejections while preserving an employer’s original filing date and cap position when agency error is established; expedite corrections involving H-2B portability; pilot an electronic petition filing system developed with stakeholder input; and establish concurrent DOL and USCIS processing modeled on the H-2A program. The letter emphasizes that none of these proposals would weaken existing worker protections, diminish immigration screening or interfere with the government’s ability to identify fraud or national security concerns.

Looking ahead

TCIA will continue working with the H-2B Workforce Coalition to secure supplemental visas for FY 2027, pursue more predictable cap relief through the appropriations process and improve the administration of the H-2B program. We will keep members informed as these efforts develop.

Isabelle Ems is an associate at Ulman Public Policy, TCIA’s Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and lobbying partner.