April 2024 H-2B Visa Groups
At Williams Law, we represent H-2B Visa Clients across the country who seek to bring in temporary workers each year. This year, we represent clients in over one dozen different industries. Each of these clients are in need of temporary workers beginning in April 2024, and were hopeful that the H-2B Visa program might be answer to their labor woes.
Unfortunately, many of these H-2B Clients were not fortunate enough to receive favorable random group assignments from the department of labor. While many clients received Group A assignments, many more received assignments of Groups E, F or G. While we have no control over these assignments, Williams Law strives to provide each client with the information and counsel necessary to make informed decisions that can greatly impact their businesses for the upcoming season. With that in mind, this post is meant to provide our best estimate for each Group’s most likely options for the April H-2B Visa Cycle. As always, blog posts are not legal counsel and should not be considered as such — we always recommend that you consult your attorney, or that you reach out to us so that we can better learn the facts of your case and provide you with educated counsel.
Group A - Group A should be receiving Notices of Deficiency and/or Acceptance at this time. Some Group A applications have been processed and have received Notices of Acceptances and even completed local recruitment, while others have not received any correspondence at this time. All Group A applications should have a good chance to get to USCIS before the 33,000 H-2B Visas are allocated.
Group B - Group B will be next in line once all Group A applications have been reviewed. Group B applications may be processed before or after Group A applications that received Notices of Deficiency. Some Group B applications historically “beat the cap” and receive some of the first 33,000 H-2B Visas. Other Group B applications will likely be “capped out” - meaning the 33,000 H-2B Visas will be fully allocated prior to I-129 review. All Group B applications that receive DOL Temporary Labor Certification should have a chance to apply for Cap Relief Visas.
Group C - Group C naturally follows Group B. While some Group C applications MAY beat the cap and receive some of the first 33,000 H-2B Visas, the majority of Group C applications will be reliant on the Cap Relief visas. All Group C applications that receive DOL Temporary Labor Certification should have a chance to apply for Cap Relief Visas.
Group D - Group D historically will not have a chance to apply for the first 33,000 H-2B Visas before these visas are fully allocated to other Employers. Historically, all Group D applications the receive DOL Temporary Labor Certification should have a chance to apply for Cap Relief Visas.
Group E - X - Groups E - X MAY have a chance to apply for Cap Relief Visas that may be either “Returning Worker” or “Northern Triangle” H-2B Visas. It is difficult to predict which groups will be able to apply for and receive Returning Worker Cap Relief Visas and which groups will not receive their Temporary Labor Certifications prior to the Returning Worker Cap Relief Visas being fully allocated to other Employers.
While there is uncertainty for these later groups, these Employers may still be able to utilize what has historically been known as “Northern Triangle” Cap Relief. This category is now expanded to include Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. You can review the announcement here, or review the full temporary final rule.
Each year, we assist businesses with pivoting from bringing in any workers from any country they desire, to bringing in Returning Workers and/or Northern Triangle Workers. While the process is not overly complex, the finer details matter. If you are in one of these later groups and Cap Relief is likely the only option, please reach out to us and we will work with you to understand your options and help you navigate the nuances of the application process.
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