On December 2nd, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly published a temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit (or cap) on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas for all of fiscal year 2025.
DHS, in consultation with DOL, is exercising time-limited Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 authority and increasing the total number of noncitizens who may receive an H-2B nonimmigrant visa by up to 64,716 for the entirety of FY 2025. These supplemental visas will be distributed in four allocations throughout the fiscal year. This rule reserves 20,000 of these visas for nationals of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, or Costa Rica. All visas will be available only to businesses that are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm, as attested by the employer. In addition, DHS is again providing temporary portability flexibility.
The H-2B program allows U.S. employers who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs.
Read more about the 2025 temporary increase in H-2B nonimmigrant visas.
BR1 does not provide H-2B recruiting; however, this topic is of high importance to many of our clients who rely on H-2B workers to support seasonal demand in their landscaping, lawn care, irrigation, horticulture, and arboriculture businesses. We strongly support H-2B, and reforming the program to be more reliable and predictable for employers.