Deadline Looms for Getting Additional H-2B Visas

Washington, D.C. - Congress must pass an omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2022 spending, which should’ve been passed no later than September 30th, 2021. The federal government has been operating under several continuing resolutions since then, but all signs point to Congress passing something by the March 8 deadline set by the last continuing resolution.

AmericanHort and the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) have been successful at getting discretionary language in both the House and Senate Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bills to enable the Administration to release additional H-2B visas. Without this language, there will be no supplemental cap for the second half of this year.

Conversations with Congress continue to swirl around getting a returning worker exception into the spending bill, which while a long shot, would be a significant win.

Regardless, AmericanHort and NALP need you to act right now. The deal on the FY 2022 spending package will come together n the next day and as they continue to talk with champions in both chambers, they need you and 10 of your colleagues to send a message now.

Timing is critical here.  Send a message to your Members of Congress today asking them to act immediately to address H-2B cap relief.

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H-2B Cap Hit

The cap on H-2B visas for the second half of the year has been officially hit.  USCIS announced on March 1, 2022, that it has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of the fiscal year FY 2022.

February 25, 2022 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date on or after April 1, 2022, and before Oct. 1, 2022.In January, the Department of Labor announced that it received 136,555 H-2B visa worker requests for the April 1st second-half cap start date. That is more than four times the cap itself (33,000).

This was inevitable and AmericanHort and NALP met with DHS to urge the prompt release of 44,000 additional visas. Fortunately, the process to do that is currently underway.In addition, Reps Cuellar, Harris, Joyce, Pingree, Keating, and Chabot are circulating a letter in the House (similar to the Senate letter 2 weeks ago) that is asking DHS and DOL to act swiftly.