On January 31, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the cap has been reached for the additional 18,216 H-2B visas made for returning workers for the first half of the fiscal year (FY) 2023, with start dates on or before March 31, 2023, under the recently announced H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule.

Some LeadingAge aging services providers consider H-2B visas as a means to employ short-term personal care aides, nursing assistants and home health aides, among other positions. USCIS recently began accepting H-2B petitions under the Dec. 15 temporary final rule increasing the cap by up to 64,716 additional H-2B nonimmigrant visas for fiscal year FY 2023. Of the 64,716 additional visas, 44,716 were available only for returning workers. The remaining 20,000 visas are set aside for nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who are exempt from the returning worker requirement.

Petitioners whose workers were not accepted for the 18,216 returning-worker allotment are encouraged to file under the Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras allotment while visas remain available. Additional information on the FY 2023 supplemental visas is available on the USCIS Temporary Increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2023 page.

LeadingAge will continue to advocate for federal legislation that would implement a new H-2 temporary work visa category for aging services and organizations serving people with disabilities.