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A flood of applications for H-2B temporary worker visas will probably lead to the whole visa allocation of H-2B visas for fiscal year 2005 being used up in the next few months, according to figures released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).
USCIS has revealed that as of December 8 2004, 61,747 H-2B applications had been made for fiscal 2005, which runs from October 1 2004 to September 30 2005. There is a statutory cap of 66,000 visas for fiscal 2005, and USCIS will probably need to approve 100,000 applications to fully utilize this number.
Employers should submit their applications as soon as possible so as not to be caught out by the cap of 66,000 visas for fiscal year 2005. Although processing of changes to or extensions to existing H-2B visas was not affected, USCIS stopped accepting new H-2B application for fiscal year 2004 as early as March 9 last year, and warns that it will have to use more exacting counts to see if it has to stop taking applications this year.
The H-2B category allows US employers to take on temporary workers for seasonal or intermittent needs. Industries most affected by the program include education, construction, healthcare, landscaping, lumber, manufacturing, food service/ processing, and resort hospitality services.
