U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Tuesday that it has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally established H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2026.
The agency confirmed that September 12 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2026. Any petitions received after that date for employment beginning before April 1 will be rejected.
The H-2B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire temporary non-agricultural workers when there are not enough U.S. workers available. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Congress has established a statutory limit—or cap—on the total number of H-2B visas granted each fiscal year. The current cap is set at 66,000 workers, split evenly between the first half of the fiscal year (October 1–March 31) and the second half (April 1–September 30). Unused numbers from the first half may be used in the second half, but they do not carry over into the following fiscal year.
USCIS emphasized that the cap applies to nearly all H-2B applicants, including first-time applicants, those seeking to renew their visa, or individuals changing the terms of their employment. Petitions for workers who are exempt from the cap—such as those already in the United States in H-2B status extending their stay, changing employers, or modifying their employment terms—will continue to be accepted. Likewise, workers who have previously been counted against the cap in the same fiscal year are not subject to the limit if indicated on the petition.
Other categories exempt from the cap include the spouses and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants, fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and supervisors of fish roe processing. Additionally, workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or Guam remain exempt until December 31, 2029.
The agency warned that applicants scheduling interviews outside the standard process or attempting to circumvent the cap may face rejection, and fees for petitions that are denied due to the cap are not refundable. USCIS also encouraged the public to report suspected fraud or abuse related to the H-2B program through its online tip form.
As the first-half cap for fiscal year 2026 has been reached, only exempt workers or those not subject to the cap will continue to be accepted. Employers planning to hire H-2B workers for the second half of the fiscal year, beginning April 1, 2026, can still submit petitions once the second-half cap becomes available.
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