USCIS announced H-2B cap for the year 2018

On Thursday USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) announced that it has reached the H-2b cap for the FY 2018.IT was said in the press statement that” Dec.15,2017 was the final receipt date for new H-2B workers petitions requesting and employment start date before April 1, 2018. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2bpetitions received after Dec.15 that requests an employment start date before April1, 2018”.

It seems agency however is still accepting petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. While statement said “Current H-2B workers in the United States petitioning to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change their employers; Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians, and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and, Workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam from Nov. 28, 2009, until Dec. 31, 2019,”. Still it’s accepting the cap-subject petitions for the second half of the fiscal year 2018 for the employment starting on or after April1, 2018 as this work-visa program allows employers to bring foreign workers for temporary nonagricultural jobs, so the cap for the program is set at 66,000 for each fiscal year. Of these, 33,000 for workers to begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 for workers who start work in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30)

However work-visa program is for low –wage foreign workers, this year in July Trump administration expressed need for a more nonagricultural foreign workers and announced a one-time increase of 15,000 additional visas. Spouse of H-2B workers and unmarried children(under 21years of age) can accompany him/her on an H-4visa can stay in the country for a maximum of three year duration and has to depart and remain outside of the US for an “ uninterrupted period of 3month before seeking readmission as on H-2B non-immigrants as per specifics of USCIS websites.