USCIS Updates the H-2B Cap Count

Congress passed a spending package to fund federal agencies through September 30, 2021. If signed into law, the omnibus bill and COVID-19 relief package will extend certain immigration programs set to expire, grant authority to DHS to increase the number of H-2B visas, and provide COVID-19 relief to mixed-status families.

DHS published a notice of the 81 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A program and the 80 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2B program. The designations are effective January 19, 2021, and shall be without effect after January 18, 2022. Changes include adding the Philippines to the list of countries eligible to participate in the H-2B program, no longer designating the Independent State of Samoa and Tonga as eligible countries for the H-2A and H-2B programs, and no longer designating Mongolia as an eligible country for the H-2A program.

USCIS released its H-2B cap count for FY2021, stating that it has received 29,739 beneficiaries toward the 33,000 cap for the first half of FY2021, with… 

USCIS is increasing premium processing fees, effective today, October 19, 2020. Fees are increasing from $1,440 to $2,500 for benefit requests that are already eligible for… 

DOS announced that, due to the injunction in National Association of Manufacturers v. DHS, any J-1, H-1B, H-2B, or L-1 applicant who is either sponsored (as an…