On March 16, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of H2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H2B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017 [link]. The final receipt date for new H2B petitions requesting an employment start date for H2B workers before October 1, 2017, was March 13, 2017.
Accordingly, with limited exceptions, the USCIS will reject new H2B petitions received after March 13, 2017, that request an employment start date before October 1, 2017.
There are limited types of H2B petitions that are cap-exempt. Accordingly, the USCIS will continue to accept H2B petitions on behalf of the following H2B workers that are filed after March 13, 2017, requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2017:
Current H2B workers in the United States petitioning to extend their stay and, if applicable, that change the terms of their employment or change their employers;
Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from November 28, 2009 until December 31, 2019
