On Nov. 3, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) announced in a temporary final rule that they expect to make available 64,716 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2024. This is in addition to the current allotment of 66,000 H-2B visas. These additional visas would benefit U.S. companies in the construction, food service, hospitality and tourism, forestry, landscaping, seafood processing, and many other seasonal industries currently facing a shortage of U.S. workers.
As stated in the DHS press release, 20,000 visas are expected to be allocated for workers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to “build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system that includes expanding lawful pathways for immigration while strengthening consequences for those without a legal basis to remain in the United States.” The remaining 44,716 visas from the new allotment would be set aside for returning workers who were issued an H-2B visa during one of the prior three fiscal years.