DOL Will Not Begin Releasing H2B Temporary Labor Certifications Until February 20, 2018

On February 7, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will not begin releasing H2B temporary labor certifications until February 20, 2018. This is “due to an unprecedented number of applications” [PDF version]. The USCIS stated that it “may receive more [H2B] nonimmigrant worker petitions than there are [H2B] visas available in the second half of Fiscal Year 2018.” In order to handle the large number of applications, the USCIS stated that it may randomly select H2B petitions based on their final receipt date. The USCIS will post further updates as more information becomes available.

To see the list of H2A and H2B eligible countries for fiscal year 2018, please see our full article on the subject [see article].