Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) made a join announcement that they will be making available an additional 22,000 H-2B visas for fiscal year (FY) 2021. Employers must demonstrate that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm without these additional workers.

It is important to note that 16,000 of the visas are reserved for returning workers only (those who came to the US on H-2B visas in one of the last three fiscal years: FY 2018, 2019, or 2020), regardless of nationality. The remaining 6,000 additional visas are reserved for nationals of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala and are exempt from the returning work requirement.

Read the full announcement.

Read the final rule.