The H-2B visa program is more than double the size of the original annual cap and set to grow larger in 2023: H-2B workers employed in the United States according to approved USCIS petitions and visas issued by the State Department, FY 2015–22
| Year | New H-2B workers | H-2B extensions | New visas issued | New visas issued | H-2B statutory cap | H-2B cap + supplemental cap | H-2B cap + supplemental cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 70,180 | 6,190 | 69,684 | 66,000 | |||
| 2016 | 85,203 | 5,237 | 84,627 | 66,000 | |||
| 2017 | 84,037 | 7,352 | 83,600 | 66,000 | 81,000 | ||
| 2018 | 84,752 | 9,773 | 83,774 | 66,000 | 81,000 | ||
| 2019 | 99,011 | 11,359 | 97,623 | 66,000 | 96,000 | ||
| 2020 | 65,716 | 15,719 | 61,865 | 66,000 | |||
| 2021 | 97,129 | 19,555 | 95,053 | 95,053 | 66,000 | 88,000 | |
| 2022 | 126,426 | 29,223 | 124,644 | 66,000 | 121,000 |
Notes: “New H-2B workers” represents the number of new H-2B workers estimated by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). “H-2B extensions” represents USCIS petitions for H-2B workers approved for continuing employment (i.e., visa extensions or extensions of status), as reported in the USCIS H-2B Employer Data Hub. Data on continuing employment may overcount the number of individual H-2B workers because those data also include H-2B workers who changed employers or amended their terms of employment with the same employer. “New visas issued” is the number of H-2B visas issued by the State Department.
Source: EPI analysis of data from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, H-2B Employer Data Hub, fiscal year 2015–2022 data files; Characteristics of H-2B Nonagricultural Temporary Workers reports for fiscal years 2015–2021, available at the USCIS Reports and Studies page; and U.S. Department of State, “Nonimmigrant Visa Statistics” (see PDF files for tables listed under “Nonimmigrant Worldwide Issuance and Refusal Data by Visa Category” and “Nonimmigrant Visas by Individual Class of Admission” for fiscal years 2015–2022).
This chart appears in:
- As the H-2B visa program grows, the need for reforms that protect workers is greater than ever: Employers stole $1.8 billion from workers in the industries that employed most H-2B workers over the past two decades
- Testimony prepared for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections for a hearing on “Second-class workers – Assessing H-2 visa programs’ impact on workers”
- Costa Senate Testimony just for charts
- Costa charts for Senate testimony 2023 in order DO NOT USE
- Testimony prepared for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary for a hearing on ‘From Farm to Table, Immigrant Workers Get the Job Done’
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