Labor Immigration Law

Cap Reached.  On January 03, 2008, the USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the cap for the second half of 2008 fiscal year.  The USCIS will reject petitions for new H-2B workers seeking employment start dates prior to October 1, 2008, that arrive after January 2, 2008.

H-2B Visa Background.  The H-2B visa is not as popular as its sibling, the H-1B, but it provides an avenue for many foreigners to come to the United States and engage in a seasonal non-agricultural employment.  Service industries such as hospitality, landscaping, construction and food processing are using this visa the most to assure their businesses are staffed appropriately during peak seasons.  By closing H-2B processing for 10 months, USCIS has shown that the demand for temporary workers is enormous and that inability of employers to sponsor legal workers will put them in a difficult position as to whether to hire illegal workers and risk fines or imprisonment or scale down business operations until at least October.