DHS and DOL add 20,000 H-2B visas for first half of FY2022

Policy effect

DHS and DOL issued a temporary final rule authorizing up to 20,000 supplemental H-2B visas for employers with FY2022 first-half start dates and irreparable-harm attestations.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: DHS and DOL issued a temporary final rule authorizing up to 20,000 supplemental H-2B visas for employers with FY2022 first-half start dates and irreparable-harm attestations.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

… the Secretary of Labor, is exercising his time-limited Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 authority and increasing the total number of noncitizens who may receive an H-2B nonimmigrant visa by authorizing the issuance of no more than 20,000 additional visas during FY 2022 for positions with start dates on or before March 31, 2022, to those businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm, as attested by the employer on a new attestation form. In addition to making additional visas available under the FY 2022 time-limited authority, DHS is exercising its general H-2B regulatory … Flexibility Act D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 E. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) F. Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform) G. Congressional Review Act H. National Environmental Policy Act I. Paperwork Reduction Act I. Executive Summary FY 2022 H-2B Supplemental Cap With this temporary final rule (TFR), the Secretary of Homeland Security, following consultation with the Secretary of Labor, is authorizing the immediate release of an additional 20,000 H-2B visas for FY 2022 positions with start dates on or before March 31, 2022, subject to certain conditions. The 20,000 visas are divided … provision was in force, U.S. employers' standard business needs for H-2B workers exceeded the statutory 66,000 cap. The highest number of H-2B returning workers approved was 64,716 in FY 2007. In setting the number of additional H-2B visas to be made available in this temporary final rule for those petitioners with start dates on or before March 31, 2022 during FY 2022, DHS considered this number, overall indications of increased need, and the availability of U.S. workers, as discussed below. On the basis of these considerations, DHS determined that it would be appropriate to make available up to … 20,000 additional visas under the FY2022 supplemental cap authority. The Secretary further considered the objectives of E.O. 14010, which among other initiatives, instructs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State to implement measures to enhance access to visa programs for individuals from the Northern Triangle countries, as well as to address some of the root causes of and manage migration throughout both North and Central America, including Haiti, and determined that reserving up to 6,500 of the up to 20,000 additional visas and exempting this number from the returning … cap by an additional 20,000 visas during FY 2022 for positions with start dates on or before March 31, 2022 to businesses that: (1) Show that there are an insufficient number of U.S. workers to meet their needs in the first half of FY 2022; (2) attest that their businesses are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all of the H-2B workers requested on their petition; and (3) petition for returning workers who were issued an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status in FY 2019, 2020, or 2021, unless the H-2B worker is a national …

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

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