On July 13, 2012, USCIS provided an update of the amount of cap-subject
H-2B visas received and approved by the federal agency for the second
half of Fiscal Year 2012. According to USCIS, a total of 26,679
beneficiaries have been approved for the second half of Fiscal Year
2012, with an additional 1,819 petitions pending. USCIS is targeting a
total of 51,000 cap-subject H-2B petitions for the second half of Fiscal
Year 2012. USCIS has also noted that a total of 308 beneficiaries have
been approved for the first half of FY2013, with an additional 305
pending.
Congressionally-based legislation limits the amount of H-2B visas
provided per fiscal year to a total of 66,000, with 33,000 allocated for
employment for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 allocated
for employment for the second half of the fiscal year. Unused numbers
from the first half of the fiscal year are made available for use by
employers seeking H-2B workers during the second half of the year. These
numbers do not, however, carry over from one fiscal year to another. A
total of 36,609 beneficiaries were approved for the first half of Fiscal
Year 2012. USCIS was targeting 45,000 beneficiaries for that time
period.
