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H-2B LeadershipCouncil

Long-Term Program Reform

Certified Seasonal Employer

A long-term approach to workforce certainty for established, compliant H-2B employers.

Proposed reform — not current law or agency policy

Overview

What CSE Means

The Council considers the Certified Seasonal Employer designation the single most important long-term reform available to H-2B employers.

Under the proposal, an employer with at least five consecutive years in the H-2B program could be designated a Certified Seasonal Employer. That employer would then be eligible to receive, outside the annual cap, up to the highest number of H-2B workers approved during the applicable five-year period.

In practical terms, it is like making the lottery every year, guaranteed.

As demand dramatically exceeds the visas available, that difference compounds. CSE is designed to convert a yearly gamble into lasting stability and predictability for businesses that have already demonstrated a sustained, lawful record in the program.

Proposed Eligibility

  • Five consecutive years of participationThe employer has taken part in the H-2B program for at least five consecutive years.
  • A compliant recordThe designation is intended to reward employers with a sustained record of lawful participation — one of the Council's guiding principles.
  • A genuine, recurring seasonal needThe underlying temporary-need standard that governs H-2B today would continue to apply.

How the Five-Year Calculation Works

The proposal looks back across the applicable five-year period and identifies the single highest number of H-2B workers approved for that employer in any one year. That peak figure becomes the ceiling for the employer's allocation outside the annual cap.

Illustration — proposed CSE five-year calculation

An example employer with five consecutive years of participation. The highest number of workers approved during that period becomes the potential CSE allocation.

  • Year 140 workers approved
  • Year 255 workers approved
  • Year 348 workers approved
  • Year 472 workers approved
  • Year 564 workers approved

Potential CSE allocation, outside the annual cap

72 workers

The highest approved count in the five-year period — available each season without depending on the lottery.

Illustrative worker counts only. CSE is a proposed reform, not an available government program.

Potential Benefits

  • Season planning with confidence

    Contracts, equipment, and year-round staffing can be committed before the season rather than after a selection result.

  • Protection for year-round American jobs

    Supervisors, mechanics, drivers, and office staff depend on the peak season being fully staffed.

  • Reduced administrative churn

    Fewer emergency refilings, withdrawn bids, and last-minute schedule changes across a season.

  • A reward for compliance

    Certainty is tied to a sustained lawful record, which strengthens the incentive to get filings right.

What CSE Does Not Change

  • It does not change the temporary, seasonal character of H-2B work.
  • It does not remove required U.S. worker recruitment, wage obligations, or record-keeping duties.
  • It does not exempt an employer from oversight, audit, or enforcement.
  • It does not create a path to permanent residence for any worker.
  • It is not a broader immigration measure — the Council's position is that H-2B should be considered on its own operational merits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Latest Updates

No updates have been published yet. Developments on the CSE proposal will be posted here with a date and a source link as the Council confirms them.

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