H-2B Cap for the Second Half of 2014

As of August 8, 2014 the USCIS receipted 26,677 H-2B beneficiaries. H-2B Program was designed for immigration of non-agricultural foreign workers. On March 14, 2014, the USCIS received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. March 14, 2014 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2014. 

The final receipt date is when the Immigration Service receives enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY 2014. This means that there are no longer any spots available from the first half of FY 2014 to carry over to the second half of FY 2014. H-2B worker who extends his/her stay in H-2B status will not be counted against the H-2B cap.  In addition, the spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants are not counted against this cap.

Cap Type	Cap Amount	Beneficiaries Approved	Beneficiaries Pending	Target Beneficiaries	Total	Date of Last Count
H-2B: 2nd Half FY 2014	33,0002	25,442	1,235		26,677	08/08/2014
H-2B: 1st  Half FY 2015	33,000	1,312	950		2,262	08/08/2014