FY2010 H-2B Cap Soon To Be Reached
The H-2B category allows individuals to enter the U.S. for temporary non-agricultural employment. The H-2B category is capped at 66,000 per year with 33,000 available for the 1st half of the fiscal year (Oct. 1 – March 31) and the remaining 33,000 for the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30). As of 05/11/2010, the USCIS has approved 65,307 H-2B petitions of the 66,000 available and 828 are still pending adjudication. Therefore, the FY2010 H-2B Cap will soon be reached. But the USCIS will continue to accept petitions from H-2B workers who are exempt from the cap, including current H-2B workers who wish to extend their stay in H-2B status; fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and workers engaged in employment in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and/or Guam.
