DOL and DHS to Supplement H-2B Cap with 35,000 Additional Visas for Fiscal Year 2026 to Assist American Businesses with Seasonal Workforce

The Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) are announcing that they will make an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, on top of the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year. The Departments will focus these additional H-2B visas, nearly a 50 percent reduction in the total supplemental visas released as compared to FY 2023-2025, to support American businesses with seasonal or temporary workforce needs in critical infrastructure sectors of the U.S. economy, such as seafood, forestry, hospitality and tourism, transportation, and manufacturing. The Departments expect to release these additional H-2B visas, including any eligibility criteria and filing requirements, in the coming weeks through a temporary final rule published in the Federal Register. The Departments have agreed to release additional H-2B visas for FY 2026 under the time-limited authority enacted by Congress for FY 2026.