- USCIS reached the statutory cap for the second half of fiscal year 2026 on March 10, 2026.
- A total of 64,716 supplemental visas were authorized to address ongoing labor shortages in nonagricultural sectors.
- The second supplemental allocation for returning workers remains open until April 23 or until the cap is hit.
(UNITED STATES) — USCIS reached the H-2B visa cap for the second half of fiscal year 2026 on March 10, 2026, closing off new cap-subject petitions for many jobs starting during that period while continuing to accept certain exempt filings.
The agency said March 10, 2026 was the final receipt date for cap-subject petitions seeking employment start dates from April 1–October 1, 2026. Petitions received after that date for those start dates face rejection unless they fall within an exemption.
That leaves employers seeking workers under the regular H-2B visa cap with fewer options for the April 1–September 30 portion of the fiscal year. Exempt petitions still include extensions for current H-2B workers, employer changes, and status adjustments.
USCIS announced on March 20, 2026 that it had received enough petitions to meet the statutory limit for the second half of FY 2026. Under the program’s annual structure, the H-2B visa cap totals 66,000 visas, split into 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year from Oct 1–Mar 31 and 33,000 for the second half from Apr 1–Sep 30.
The H-2B program covers temporary nonagricultural work. Employers in sectors such as hospitality and landscaping rely on it to fill short-term labor needs.
To address those labor shortages, USCIS is also distributing up to 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas for FY 2026. That additional pool operates under a temporary final rule issued by DHS and DOL on January 30, 2026.
The supplemental H-2B visas sit outside the regular statutory cap and break into three allocations tied to different employment start dates and eligibility rules. For employers shut out of the standard cap, those tranches now carry much of the remaining opportunity.
A large share of the supplemental supply goes to workers who have already held H-2B status in recent years. USCIS allocated 46,226 of those visas to returning workers from FY 2023, 2024, or 2025 across the first two supplemental rounds.
The first allocation contained 18,490 visas for jobs with start dates from Jan 1–Mar 31, 2026. That tranche applied only to returning workers, and its cap reached its final receipt date on Feb 6, 2026.
The second allocation contains 27,736 visas, plus any unused numbers from the first round. It applies to employment start dates from Apr 1–Apr 30, 2026 and also limits eligibility to returning workers with H-2B status in FY 2023–2025.
That second supplemental H-2B visas allocation remains open as of April 10, 2026. Employers can file through April 23, 2026, or until the cap is reached, whichever comes first.
The third allocation contains 18,490 visas, plus any unused numbers from prior allocations. Unlike the first two rounds, it does not require workers to be returning workers and covers employment start dates from May 1–Sep 30, 2026.
USCIS plans to announce filing dates for that third tranche. Those visas become available after exhaustion of the statutory cap, a threshold the agency has already said was reached for the second half of FY 2026 on March 10, 2026.
The supplemental structure also allows numbers to move forward if demand falls short in an earlier round. Unused visas from earlier allocations roll over to later ones but do not carry beyond FY 2026.
That rollover rule could expand the number of visas available in later supplemental rounds, but only within the current fiscal year. Once FY 2026 ends, unused supplemental numbers do not continue into the next year.
Employers seeking any of the supplemental visas must first secure a certified DOL Form ETA 9142B. After that certification, they file Form I-129 with USCIS.
If petitions outpace available numbers, USCIS may use a lottery. That process applies to oversubscribed supplemental allocations as well as to demand surges that can quickly close filing windows.
The calendar has become as important as eligibility. For the first supplemental round, the window has already closed; for the second, filings opened on Mar 25 and remain available until April 23, 2026 or cap exhaustion; and for the third, employers must wait for USCIS to publish filing dates.
Those timelines matter because the regular H-2B visa cap for the second half of the year is no longer available for most new cap-subject filings. In practice, the supplemental system now forms the main route for employers still trying to secure workers for spring and summer jobs under the program.
The split between returning workers and open eligibility also shapes who can benefit from the remaining visas. The first two supplemental rounds reserve access for workers who already held H-2B status in FY 2023, 2024, or 2025, while the third opens the door to any workers once that tranche begins.
That design gives returning workers priority in the early supplemental rounds. It also leaves the broadest access for the last tranche, which covers the longest remaining employment period from May 1–Sep 30, 2026.
For employers, the combined picture is now clear. The statutory H-2B visa cap for the second half of FY 2026 filled on March 10, 2026, but supplemental H-2B visas remain available through a separate system that still has one open returning-worker tranche and one broader tranche to come.
USCIS has said it will issue updates and notifications as caps are reached or filing windows close. Until then, the second supplemental allocation stays open through April 23, 2026 or until demand exhausts the remaining numbers.
