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Original Date Announced
December 31, 2025DHS and DOL announced that they will make an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, on top of the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year. The additional visas will focus on supporting businesses with seasonal or temporary workforce needs in critical infrastructure sectors of the U.S. economy, such as seafood, forestry, hospitality and tourism, transportation, and manufacturing.
Trump 2.0 [ID #2165]
2025.12.31 DOL/DHS - 35,000 additional H-2B visasEffective Date
December 31, 2025Subsequent Trump and Court Action
January 26, 2026Politico - Weekly Shift - Job Corps comes back from the brink
Politico reports that House appropriators have adopted a bipartisan amendment to the Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security funding bill that proposes a significant overhaul of temporary work visa programs. The measure, offered by Representative Andy Harris (R-Md.), would allow H-2A agricultural workers to remain in the U.S. for the full duration of their job offer, up to one year. Additionally, the amendment would permit H-2B employers to hire the same number of non-agricultural workers annually without being restricted by current visa caps or the lottery system. The bill also includes a provision to reclassify circus and carnival workers from the H-2B category to P visas, which are typically reserved for foreign athletes and entertainers.
View DocumentSubsequent Trump and Court Action
January 30, 20262026.02.03 DHS & DOL - Exercise of Time-Limited Authority To Increase FY 2026 Numerical Limitation for the H–2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Program
DHS and DOL published a joint temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas for fiscal year 2026. These visas are in addition to the 66,000 congressionally-mandated H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year. The supplemental visas are available only to employers that are "suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all of the H-2B workers required on the petition."
View DocumentCurrent Status
NoneOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Actions: Agency Directive RuleSubject Matter: Non-Immigrant Visas: Employment-BasedAssociated or Derivative Policies
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
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New Policy
Original Source:
2025.12.31 DOL/DHS - 35,000 additional H-2B visas
- Subsequent Action
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Commentary
Politico - Inside lobbying efforts to make the Mar-a-Lago foreign worker visa a staple of MAGA
Politico reports that the Seasonal Employment Alliance (SEA), a trade group with ties to the Trump Organization, is lobbying the administration to expand the H-2B seasonal worker visa program.
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