DHS to Provide 20,000 Additional H-2B Visas for U.S. Employers
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule making available an additional 20,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2022. These additional visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers on or before March 31, 2022.
H-2B visas allow employers to hire foreign workers who come temporarily to the United States and perform temporary non-agricultural services or labor — including construction work — on a one-time, seasonal, peak-load or intermittent basis.
The supplemental H-2B visa allocation consists of 13,500 visas available only to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years – FY 2019, 2020 or 2021.
The remaining 6,500 visas, which are exempt from the returning worker requirement, are reserved for nationals of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador (collectively called the Northern Triangle), as well as nationals from Haiti.
The forthcoming rule also grants portability to certain H-2B workers by allowing H-2B nonimmigrant workers already in the United States to begin employment with a new H-2B employer or agent once U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receives a timely filed, non-frivolous H-2B petition but before the petition is approved. Portability enables H-2B workers to change employers more quickly if they encounter unsafe or abusive working conditions.
How to File
Once the temporary final rule has been published, eligible employers seeking cap-subject H-2B workers can file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, seeking additional H-2B workers. They must submit a confirmation with their petition to demonstrate their business is suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without a supplemental workforce.
More information
Additional details on eligibility and filing requirements will be available in the temporary final rule and the Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants webpage.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov
Latest from NAHBNow
Labor | Advocacy
Apr 24, 2026
Labor Department Proposes New Joint Employer Rule for Wage and Hour EnforcementThe Department of Labor (DOL) released the text of a proposed rule that would establish a nationwide standard for determining joint liability for under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
Advocacy
Apr 23, 2026
NAHB Applauds Lawmakers’ Push to Remove Harmful Mandate from Major Housing PackageIn a letter signed by 76 representatives, the Real Estate Caucus and the Build America Caucus called on House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to remove harmful provisions in the Senate-passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act that mandate the forced sale of single-family build-to-rent (BTR) housing.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Apr 22, 2026
State-Level Employment Situation: February 2026February’s labor market data point to a notable pullback in employment, with job losses concentrated across a majority of states and only modest gains elsewhere. While January showed solid momentum, February’s decline reflects emerging softness in hiring conditions, alongside uneven performance across the country.
Economics
Apr 21, 2026
Population Growth and Housing Supply Dynamics at the County Level in 2025U.S. population growth slowed notably in the latest Vintage 2025 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, with the nation expanding by just 0.5% in 2025, roughly half the pace of the prior year. The deceleration was primarily driven by a sharp decline in net international migration (NIM), which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million, while natural change remained relatively stable.
Economics
Apr 20, 2026
Construction Workforce Shifts: Fewer Tradesmen, More White-Collar JobsThe long-running shift in the construction labor force away from construction trades and toward management, business, and technical roles is ongoing and gaining momentum, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest 2024 data from the American Community Survey (ACS).