On October 12th, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the support of the Department of Labor (DOL), announced that it would be adopting a regulation which, in addition to the 66,000 H-2B visas that are typically made available each fiscal year, will grant companies access to an extra 64,716 temporary non-agricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023. By establishing the availability of these additional H-2B visas for the start of the fiscal year which began on October 1st, 2022, DHS is moving quickly to satisfy businesses’ requirements. At the same time, the DHS and DOL are collaborating to establish strong protections for both American and foreign workers. These securities include making sure that employers, as required by the visa program, are not taking advantage of foreign workers that they hire and providing them with safe working conditions.
A total of 20,000 visas are allocated under the H-2B supplemental for workers from Haiti and the Central American nations. As was noted in the bilateral working group on labor mobility, this is only one of many ways that the United States and Mexico are cooperating to control migration and promote economic growth. Seasonal labor is essential to American businesses in a variety of sectors, including hospitality and tourism, gardening, seafood processing, and more, in order to fulfill consumer demand. The additional visa distribution will aid the American economy by addressing the need for seasonal employees in regions where there aren’t enough American workers available.
