US H-2B visa 2026: First allocation cap reached; Indians ineligible

USCIS holds lottery after demand exceeds 18,490 returning worker visas; Indian nationals remain excluded from H-2B programme

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Tuesday said it has received enough petitions to meet the cap for the first allocation of supplemental H-2B visas for the financial year 2026.

 

The allocation covered 18,490 additional visas reserved for returning workers with employment start dates between January 1 and March 31, 2026. USCIS confirmed that February 6, 2026, was the final receipt date for petitions under this first tranche.

 

The agency said it received more petitions than available visas during the initial filing window. To deal with the excess demand, it conducted a computer-generated random selection process on February 13, 2026. The lottery covered petitions received between February 2 and February 6, the first five business days of filing. Petitions that were not selected will be rejected and returned with their filing fees.

   

As of early 2026, Indian nationals remain excluded from the list of countries eligible for the H-2B visa programme.

 

What is the H-2B cap structure for FY2026?

 

The H-2B visa programme allows US employers to hire foreign nationals for temporary, non-agricultural jobs when there are not enough qualified US workers available. Industries that rely on the programme include landscaping, hospitality, seafood processing, ski resorts, construction and other seasonal businesses.

 

Congress has set the statutory H-2B cap at 66,000 visas per financial year. These are divided into two halves:

 

> 33,000 visas for work beginning on October 1 and ending on March 31

> 33,000 visas for work beginning on April 1 and ending on September 30

 

On January 30, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor released a temporary final regulation in response to labour shortages in seasonal industries.

 

The rule makes available an additional 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas for FY2026 beyond the statutory cap. These supplemental visas are divided into three allocations:

 

First allocation: 18,490 visas reserved for returning workers, covering start dates January 1 through March 31, 2026. This allocation has now been reached.

Second allocation: 27,736 visas, plus any unused numbers from the first allocation, reserved for returning workers with start dates April 1 through April 30, 2026.

Third allocation: 18,490 visas, plus any unused numbers from earlier allocations, open to all eligible workers, not limited to returning workers, for start dates May 1 through September 30, 2026.

 

Returning workers are defined as individuals who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FY2023, FY2024 or FY2025. The returning worker requirement applies to the first and second allocations but does not apply to the third allocation.

 

When can employers file for the remaining H-2B visas?

 

Employers seeking workers with April 1 to April 30, 2026 start dates may file under the second allocation no earlier than 15 days after USCIS announces that the second half of the statutory H-2B cap has been reached.

 

For the third allocation, covering May 1 to September 30, 2026 start dates, employers may file petitions no earlier than 45 days after the second half cap announcement and no later than September 15, 2026.

 

USCIS said it will stop accepting petitions under the temporary final rule after September 15, 2026. The agency also said it will deny all petitions pending under the supplemental rule that are not approved by October 1, 2026. Filing fees will not be refunded in such cases.

 

Petitions requesting employment start dates after September 30, 2026, will count towards the first half of the statutory FY2027 H-2B cap.

 

With two supplemental allocations still available, businesses that depend on temporary workers for seasonal operations now face tight filing windows in the months ahead.