The Trump administration announced that 35,000 additional H-2B temporary worker visas will be available for fiscal year 2026, which runs through September 30.
The extra visas — which supplement the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas made available each fiscal year — is a smaller allocation compared to recent years.
H‑2B visas help employers meet seasonal or temporary labor needs and are primarily used in industries like hospitality, tourism, seafood processing, forestry, manufacturing, and landscaping.
The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor expect to release the additional visas, including eligibility criteria and filing requirements, in the coming weeks through a temporary final rule published in the Federal Register.
“It’s not enough,” said Meagan Kirchner, a business immigration attorney and founder of Kirchner Law in Charlottesville, Va. Kirchner called the intent to release only 35,000 supplemental H-2B visas “deeply disappointing,” and “a stunning cut from the 64,716 additional visas made available in each of the past three fiscal years.”
SHRM recently signed on to a letter from the H-2B Workforce Coalition urging the Trump administration to make available 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas for fiscal year 2026.
The base statutory cap of 66,000 was set more than three decades ago and has never reflected modern labor market realities, Kirchner said. She also expressed concern about the lack of details about how or when the supplemental visas will be allocated.
Keith Pabian, founding partner of Pabian Law, an immigration firm in Framingham, Mass., that specializes in H-2B visas for the hospitality industry, said that the additional visas are good news but that much is still unknown regarding the substance of the relief.
“It is unlikely that the number of additional visas ultimately released will be enough for all employers who wish to file based on past years,” he said. “If demand outweighs supply, DHS may conduct a lottery to select which petitions it will accept.”
Pabian said that H-2B employers must wait for more clarity on how many visas will be allocated to winter-season employers vs. summer-season employers, and whether there will be separate allocations for returning workers who have been issued H-2B visas in previous years or a country-specific allocation — a tactic used in recent years.
“Employers likely need to clear additional hurdles in order to apply for cap relief,” he said. “In past years, eligibility for supplemental visas has required employers to take additional steps, including submitting an attestation that they will experience irreparable harm if they are not able to hire H-2B workers and undergoing additional recruitment efforts to identify potential U.S. workers.”
Additionally, the filing of supplemental cap petitions has increased government scrutiny, including the chance of an audit, Pabian said.
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