Question 1

What is the H-2B program?

Accepted Answer

H-2B is a temporary, non-agricultural workforce program. It allows an employer with a limited, recurring period of peak demand to hire seasonal workers when enough qualified U.S. workers are not available for that period.

Question 2

Is H-2B an immigration pathway?

Accepted Answer

No. H-2B is temporary and seasonal. It does not create a path to permanent residence, and workers return home at the end of the authorized period.

Question 3

Who can use the program?

Accepted Answer

Employers who can demonstrate a temporary need — most commonly a seasonal need tied to weather, a tourist season, a harvest, or a growing season — that recurs and then ends. Year-round positions are not eligible.

Question 4

Does an employer have to try hiring U.S. workers first?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Required U.S. worker recruitment happens before any H-2B hire, the job must be offered on the same terms, and qualified U.S. applicants must be hired.

Question 5

What is the cap?

Accepted Answer

Congress sets a statutory annual limit on H-2B visas, split between the two halves of the fiscal year. When filings exceed the numbers available, allocation has been handled through a randomized selection process.

Question 6

What is a supplemental release?

Accepted Answer

When demand exceeds the statutory cap, additional visas may be made available for part of the fiscal year. Each release has its own announcement date, number of visas, and general worker arrival period. The Council maintains a year-by-year record of those releases.

Question 7

Why do certified positions, approvals, and issued visas differ?

Accepted Answer

They are three separate stages handled by three different agencies. A certified position is a Department of Labor finding about a job; an approval is a USCIS decision on a petition; an issuance is a visa granted by a consulate. They should never be treated as interchangeable measures.

Question 8

What wage must H-2B workers be paid?

Accepted Answer

At least the applicable wage established for the occupation and area of intended employment, for all hours worked. The same terms apply to U.S. workers in corresponding employment.

Question 9

Can the same workers return each year?

Accepted Answer

Employers frequently request workers who have performed the job before, and certain filing windows have carried a returning-worker stipulation. Whether that applies in a given year depends on the allocation rules in effect.

Question 10

What is the Certified Seasonal Employer designation?

Accepted Answer

It is a proposed reform — not current law or agency policy — under which an employer with at least five consecutive years in the program could receive, outside the annual cap, up to the highest number of workers approved during that five-year period.

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