Home / Business and Economy / US Adds 35K H-2B Visas for Businesses
US Adds 35K H-2B Visas for Businesses
9 Jan
Summary
- Additional 35,000 H-2B visas for FY2026 announced.
- This is a reduction from previous years' supplemental visas.
- Visas support seasonal needs in sectors like tourism and manufacturing.
The Departments of Labor and Homeland Security have announced the availability of an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for Fiscal Year 2026. These visas supplement the congressionally mandated 66,000 annual H-2B visas, though this represents a reduction compared to supplemental numbers in FY 2023-2025. The initiative is designed to bolster American businesses facing seasonal or temporary labor shortages.
These additional visas are crucial for sectors integral to the U.S. economy, including seafood, forestry, hospitality and tourism, transportation, and manufacturing. The Departments anticipate publishing a temporary final rule in the Federal Register in the coming weeks, which will detail the specific eligibility criteria and filing procedures for these supplemental visas.
The H-2B program allows U.S. companies to hire foreign nationals for temporary non-agricultural jobs, with a maximum stay of three years. The current annual cap is set at 66,000 visas, split evenly between the first and second halves of the fiscal year. Recent application processing for the second half of FY 2026 began on January 1, 2026.
