Pabian Law Client Alert: Summer-Season H-2B Cap Reached & Supplemental Cap Petition Update

I hope this email finds you well. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this evening that the H-2B visa numerical cap was reached on March 10^th for the second half of the government's fiscal year (the summer season). In short, due to the 33,000 visa numerical limit set by Congress when H-2B visas were created, there are no new H-2B visas remaining for employers with seasonal start dates between April 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026.

Importantly, please note: this Client Alert does not impact winter-season employers (start dates in the fall and winter). Additionally, if you are a summer-season employer who is only hiring "in-country" workers (i.e., workers who are transferring between H-2B employers within the U.S.), then this Client Alert is not applicable to you, as in-country workers are "cap-exempt."

***Today's announcement is yet another example of the Administration showing that it supports H-2B visas and understand that it needs to release additional visas to meet demands. Also, the ultimate release of this year's supplemental visas (i.e., cap relief) is about 10 days earlier than last year.

Additional information/reminders regarding the cap announcement

1. The numerical cap was officially reached on March 10^th. Any cap-subject H-2B petitions received by USCIS in the mail after that date will not be accepted. Petitions received on March 10^th may be accepted or may be entered into a random lottery to determine which will be accepted if necessary.
2. If your petition was assigned an unfavorable lottery grouping, and you were not able to file your out-of-country H-2B petition prior to March 10^th, and you are still interested in hiring out-of-country workers – cap relief (i.e., a supplemental visa petition) is an option. This is also true if you have a May 1^st or later start date, which places you in the separate, late-season cap relief allocation. Please see the section below (and primarily the attached client alert) for additional detail.
   • Please note: the linked Client Alert mentions Group E as the likely cutoff for early-season Returning Worker cap relief. However, cap relief is significantly different this year than last year, and therefore, it is difficult to predict the cutoff. Therefore, if you are interested in cap relief for a Group F position, please let us know. We can take a wait-and-see approach, as the DOL has not begun processing Group F cases yet, and therefore, it will be at least four (4) weeks before supplemental cap petitions can be filed for this group.

Case processing and backlogs

Regarding visa processing, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is currently working through the applications that were assigned various lottery groupings for April 1^st start dates. Currently, the government is processing Group E cases. The DOL is currently two (2) weeks behind last year's processing times. The backlogs will almost certainly result in delayed start dates for H-2B visa workers for April 1^st employers with start dates in group E or later, as well as for employers with start dates after April 1^st. We are hoping that the DOL may catch up as it proceeds to later groups and later start dates, and we will keep you updated.

In-Country Recruiting

Please remember that in-country recruiting is the best option whenever possible, as it allows organizations to sidestep the cap entirely (in-country workers are cap-exempt) and avoids the risks associated with supplemental cap petitions (e.g., "irreparable harm" and audits). For those that may be having difficulty with in-country recruiting, we are linking some resources that can help facilitate a smooth and successful in-country recruiting process.

Please remember that there is an incredible resource available through our sister company, Seasonal Connect, which has thousands of cap-exempt in-country H-2B visa workers, as well as out-of-country workers that may be available under cap relief in the platform. Additionally, Seasonal Connect provides the following:

• Community Collaboration: Join a nationwide network of seasonal employers in various sectors to exchange recruitment strategies and insights.
• Opposite-Season Partnerships: Form partnerships with summer-season organizations to transfer workers to and from each season, ensuring consistent employment for staff and simplifying the hiring process.
• Direct Job Postings: Easily reach a wide pool of seasonal candidates by posting job openings on your profile.
• Extensive Worker Database: Access our comprehensive database of over 50,000 seasonal workers, with filters to help you find the ideal candidates. Thousands of these workers are in-country (cap-exempt) H-2Bs looking for their next seasonal jobs!
• Housing Solutions: Leverage its partnerships to find housing options for your seasonal workforce.
• Breaking Updates: Be the first to know about the latest trends and statistics in the hospitality industry.

If you are not already a member, you can join Seasonal Connect at https://seasonalconnect.com/pricing/.

Cap Relief (i.e., supplemental visa petitions)

If your organization did not receive a favorable lottery assignment and missed the cap for a given application (or you have a later start date), and you are still interested in hiring out-of-country (i.e., cap-subject) H-2B workers, filing a supplemental visa petition may be an option. Based on the date the initial cap was reached, supplemental cap petitions for early season filers will be able to be filed as soon as this Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Please keep in mind, however, that any petition filed within the first five business days (i.e., by March 31^st) will be treated the same in terms of chances of making the supplemental cap – therefore, petitions not filed on Wednesday will be at no disadvantage, as long as we file the petition by March 31^st.

The attached Client Alert provides significant detail regarding cap relief categories, considerations, and strategy for both early-season (April) and late-season (May 1^st and later) applications.

Next Steps

Again, if you are a Pabian Law summer-season client (regardless of start date) who is interested filing a supplemental cap petition, could you please email us to confirm your interest? Specifically, can you please let us know which positions you want to file for? Please let us know as soon as possible, and ideally no later than the end of the day this Monday, March 23^rd. (Even if you have already reached out to let us know your interest, please reach out again to ensure that you are on our list.) For clients with April 1^st start dates, we will reach out to early next week to request signature on the attestation form that will be required for filing. For clients with later start dates, we plan to reach out in the next few weeks to request signature on this form.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.