The H-2B visa is a temporary U.S. work visa that lets employers hire foreign workers for non-agricultural jobs when American workers aren’t available to fill them. Congress caps it at 66,000 visas per fiscal year, though the Department of Homeland Security often adds supplemental slots on top. Getting one takes three federal agencies, several months, and a set of employer obligations that continue long after the worker arrives.
What Kinds of Jobs Qualify
The employer’s need for workers has to be temporary, even when the underlying job could be described as permanent. USCIS recognizes four kinds of temporary need:
- A one-time occurrence: the employer has never needed workers for this task before and won’t need them again.
- A seasonal need tied to a predictable, recurring time of year, such as a summer resort or a winter ski operation.
- A peak-load need, where permanent staff handle the regular workload but extra hands are required during a temporary surge, and the temporary workers won’t join the permanent team.
- An intermittent need, where the employer doesn’t keep permanent workers for the task and only occasionally requires short stretches of labor.
Seasonal, peak-load, and intermittent needs are each capped at one year. A one-time occurrence can run up to three years.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-2A and H-2B Nonimmigrant Worker Classifications The employer carries the entire burden of proving the need isn’t permanent, using project contracts, payroll history, and documentation of past seasonal cycles.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers
Who Can Get an H-2B Visa
Not every nationality qualifies. DHS publishes an annual list of eligible countries, and employers can only petition for workers from those nations. The list effective November 8, 2024, covers roughly 90 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, including major source countries like Mexico, Jamaica, Guatemala, and the Philippines.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs USCIS can grant case-by-case exceptions for workers from unlisted countries when it serves the national interest.
Spouses and unmarried children under 21 can join the worker on H-4 dependent visas. H-4 dependents don’t count against the annual H-2B cap, but they cannot work in the United States.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants
How the Application Works
Three agencies handle the process in sequence: the Department of Labor, USCIS, and the Department of State. Employers should start four to five months before the job’s start date to accommodate the filing windows.
Prevailing Wage Determination
The employer first requests a Prevailing Wage Determination from the Department of Labor, which sets the minimum pay based on the job duties, skill level, and location. The wage paid has to be at least the prevailing wage, the federal minimum wage, or the applicable state or local minimum wage, whichever is highest.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 78 – General Requirements for Employers Participating in the H-2B Program
Temporary Labor Certification and Recruitment
With the wage set, the employer files a job order with the State Workforce Agency and submits Form ETA-9142B through the Department of Labor’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway. This filing must happen 75 to 90 days before the date of need.6U.S. Department of Labor. H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural Program The employer then has to actively recruit U.S. workers, starting within 14 calendar days of the Notice of Acceptance and continuing to accept referrals through the State Workforce Agency until 21 days before the start date.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 78B – Recruiting Requirements under the H-2B Program Recruitment includes newspaper advertising and disclosure of the wage, job duties, schedule, and dates. Records of every U.S. applicant, and lawful job-related reasons for any rejection, must be kept.
The I-129 Petition
Once the labor certification is granted, the employer files Form I-129 with USCIS.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Premium processing is available for a fee, which was $1,780 as of March 2026 and guarantees a response within 15 business days.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees Standard processing can stretch to several months.
Consular Interview
After USCIS approves the petition, the worker completes the DS-160 online nonimmigrant visa application through the State Department’s Consular Electronic Application Center10U.S. Department of State Electronic Application Center. Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application and schedules an interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Federal law requires the applicant to personally sign and submit the electronic application. At the interview, a consular officer reviews the job offer, confirms qualifications, and checks for grounds of inadmissibility. Workers should bring evidence of ties to their home country, such as property records, family connections, or ongoing employment, to show they intend to return when the visa ends.
What It Costs
For a standard-sized employer filing with named workers, the government fees total $1,830:
- A base filing fee of $1,080 for named-worker petitions, which are limited to 25 workers per petition. Unnamed-worker petitions cost $580.
- A $150 Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, required for every H-2B petition.
- An Asylum Program Fee of $600 for regular employers, $300 for small employers, and $0 for nonprofits.
Small employers and nonprofits pay reduced base fees. A small employer with named workers pays $990 total; a nonprofit pays $690.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule Attorney fees are optional but typically add $4,000 to $7,000.
The Annual Cap and Supplemental Visas
The 66,000 statutory cap splits evenly: 33,000 for workers starting between October 1 and March 31, and 33,000 for those starting between April 1 and September 30.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants When petitions exceed available slots, which happens routinely, USCIS runs a lottery. Workers already in H-2B status who extend or change employers don’t count, and neither do workers already counted against the cap in the same fiscal year.
DHS and DOL regularly authorize supplemental visas by temporary final rule because the base cap rarely meets demand. For fiscal year 2026, the agencies made up to 64,716 additional visas available in three tranches: 18,490 for returning workers starting January through March 2026, 27,736 for returning workers starting in April 2026, and 18,490 for workers starting May through September 2026.12Federal Register. Exercise of Time-Limited Authority To Increase the Fiscal Year 2026 Numerical Limitation for the H-2B Program To use supplemental visas, an employer has to attest that the business will suffer “irreparable harm,” meaning permanent and severe financial loss, without the workers. Most supplemental slots are reserved for returning workers who held H-2B status in fiscal years 2023, 2024, or 2025.
What Employers Must Do for the Worker
The obligations don’t end at paying the promised wage. Every H-2B employer must guarantee enough hours to equal at least three-fourths of the workdays in each 12-week period of the contract, or each 6-week period for job orders under 120 days. If the employer can’t provide that much work, the worker still gets paid as if they had.13U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 78E – Job Hours and the Three-Fourths Guarantee under the H-2B Program Offering three-fourths of the days isn’t enough if those days don’t include the full hours listed in the job order.
Employers also have to pay or reimburse visa fees, border-crossing costs, and other visa-related expenses during the first workweek. Inbound transportation and daily subsistence must be reimbursed by the time the worker reaches the 50-percent mark of the contract, and return transportation is owed when the worker finishes the contract or is dismissed early for any reason.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 78 – General Requirements for Employers Participating in the H-2B Program Daily subsistence runs from $16.28 to $68.00, with the higher figure matching the federal per diem for meals and incidental expenses and requiring the worker to document actual expenses.14Flag.dol.gov. H-2A Meals and H-2A and H-2B Subsistence Rates
Wages have to be paid “free and clear.” Employers cannot pass recruitment costs, petition fees, or processing expenses to the worker, and any additional paycheck deductions must be lawful, reasonable, and disclosed in the original job order.
Extensions and Switching Employers
The visa is initially granted for the period on the labor certification. If the temporary need continues, employers can apply for extensions in one-year increments by filing a new Form I-129 with a fresh labor certification.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers The ceiling for continuous H-2B status is three years. After that, the worker has to leave the country for an uninterrupted 60 days before becoming H-2B-eligible again. Overstaying any authorized period starts accruing unlawful presence, which can trigger three-year or ten-year reentry bars.
A worker already in valid H-2B status can begin working for a new employer as soon as USCIS receives the new petition, so long as it’s supported by a valid labor certification.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Portability Continued for H-2B Workers Seeking to Change Employers That portability matters when a job ends early or an employer isn’t meeting its obligations.
When Employers Get Banned
Employers must keep all H-2B records, including recruitment documentation, payroll records, and the labor certification application, for at least three years from the date the application is certified.16U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 78I – Records Retention Requirements under the H-2B Program Violating program rules can lead to debarment from the program for one to five years. Grounds include misrepresenting facts on the application, failing to pay required wages, improperly displacing U.S. workers, ignoring recruitment obligations, and obstructing audits.17eCFR. 20 CFR 655.73 – Debarment A debarred employer, along with any successor business, cannot receive new H-2B labor certifications for the duration of the ban.