Update from Washington: Employer's Preview of Immigration Restrictions from the Administration
On March 25, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2025 was met on March 5, 2025. ...more
By Samantha Wolfe The United States faces a critical shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly in rural areas. Hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics struggle to find qualified workers, leading to increased patient...more
President Trump’s promise to carry out the largest deportation of undocumented individuals while simultaneously limiting the immigration of foreign workers is causing unique concerns in the hospitality industry. From resorts...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that as of January 7, 2025, the additional returning H-2B worker allotment of 20,716 visas for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2025 (October 1, 2024, to March...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a Final Rule for the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs that will become effective on Jan. 17, 2025. The Rule is aimed at modernizing the regulations governing the...more
On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final version of the H-2 program modernization rule. The final rule amends DHS regulations for both H-2A (temporary agricultural workers) and...more
Federal immigration officials announced final rules to modernize the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs last week in an effort to enhance flexibility, strengthen worker protections, and improve program efficiency...more
On December 2, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) published a temporary final rule (TFR) making nearly 65,000 more H-2B visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2025. DHS has...more
The Department of Homeland Security has released an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary visas for non-agricultural workers. The additional visas will help employers in hospitality, tourism, landscaping, construction, seafood...more
On November 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that they expect to make an additional 64,716 H-2B visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2025....more
A bipartisan group of forty United States senators is requesting that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) release additional H-2B visa slots for fiscal year (FY) 2025. Their...more
One of the most pressing issues facing seasonal businesses continues to be labor – specifically how to secure reliable employees to fill seasonal and permanent needs. Advertising does not always work and if you are lucky...more
The H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker visa programs has traditionally been the “go to” visa option for employers seeking to hire foreign nationals coming to the United States to fill non-professional or non-degreed...more
Each year the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversees the administration of the H-2B program that provides up to 66,000 visas for non-citizen workers to enter the United States to fill jobs in non-agricultural seasonal...more
Amid the ever-evolving landscape of business and workforce dynamics, the recent buzz around the H-2B visa lottery has sent ripples of anticipation and concern through companies reliant on foreign workers. As immigration and...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its new immigration-related fines/penalties, effective January 15, 2024. Immigration-related violations before the DOL involve these visas: H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B. These increases...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that as of January 9, 2024, the additional returning H-2B worker allotment of 20,716 visas for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2024 (October 1, 2023, to...more
Congress has approved an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for fiscal year 2024, supplementing the 66,000 available annually. As in prior years, restrictions will apply. A temporary final rule has been published in the Federal...more
The current administration and multiple members of Congress seek to grant protections to H-2B non-agricultural temporary workers who are employed in the United States to fill temporary labor shortages in the U.S. market....more
On November 3, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“D.H.S.”) with support of the Department of Labor (“D.O.L.”) announced that it expects to make available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural visas...more
Following reports of competing bills in the House and Senate, the U.S. government is potentially headed for a shutdown, which would begin on October 1, 2023, the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year. This would directly affect...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that as of March 30, 2023, the supplemental H-2B cap for returning workers had been reached for the early second half of fiscal year (FY) 2023. As part...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided guidance on the additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for fiscal year 2023. H-2B visas allow employers to bring workers to the United...more
As U.S. companies struggle to find workers to fill their rosters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), offered a reprieve through the authorization of supplemental...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that it would publish a regulation to make available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural work visas for the 2023 fiscal year. The visas...more