The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor issued a joint temporary final rule to increase the number of H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for FY 2022 by an additional 20,000 visas.
- 13,500 visas are available only to returning workers who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status during one of the last three fiscal years (FY 2019, 2020, or 2021).
- 6,500 visas, which are exempt from the returning worker requirement, are reserved for nationals of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador and nationals of Haiti.
The rule also grants certain H-2B workers portability by allowing H-2B nonimmigrant workers already in the United States to begin employment with a new H-2B employer or agent once USCIS receives a timely filed H-2B petition but before the petition is approved.