Bringing Overseas Employees To The U.S. With An H-2B Visa

The H-2B visa offers a practical and widely used pathway for U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for non-agricultural roles. This visa is particularly useful for addressing seasonal, peak load, intermittent, or one-time occurrences of increased labor demand. Industries such as hospitality, construction, landscaping, and tourism frequently rely on the H-2B program to meet short-term staffing needs. If your company has a temporary labor gap in the U.S., the H-2B visa may be an ideal solution—provided the role is genuinely temporary in nature.

Typical H-2B use cases span industries where demand spikes predictably or for a defined project window. Think hospitality and tourism during high season (front desk, housekeeping, food and beverage), restaurants and catering, amusement/theme parks, landscaping and groundskeeping across spring–summer, construction crews for short-term builds, site mobilization/demobilization and specialized trades, manufacturing and warehouse operations during facility start-ups/commissioning, retooling, or maintenance shutdowns, seafood processing and fishing, retail and e-commerce fulfillment around holidays, winter operations such as snow removal, and live events, fairs, and conventions. The throughline is that the role is truly temporary—meant to cover a seasonal, peak-load, intermittent, or one-time need, not to replace your permanent workforce

How the H-2B Process Works

To bring an employee to the U.S. under the H-2B visa program, the employer—or a designated U.S. agent acting on behalf of a foreign employer—must complete a multi-step process and meet strict regulatory requirements:

1. Temporary Labor Certification (TLC): Filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, this certifies that no qualified U.S. workers are available and that hiring foreign labor won’t harm U.S. worker wages or conditions. Domestic recruitment is required before approval.

2. Petition to USCIS (Form I-129): Once the TLC is approved, the employer files a petition with USCIS. Upon approval, the worker applies for a visa and enters the U.S. to begin employment.

Key Considerations

• Visa Cap: The H-2B program is limited to 66,000 visas per fiscal year, split into two halves. Due to high demand, the DOL often uses a lottery system when applications exceed the cap.
• Plan Ahead: Identify which half of the fiscal year fits your needs and prepare early. Delays can result in missing the cap entirely.
• Expanded Eligibility: As of 2025, the program no longer limits eligibility by nationality—employers can now sponsor workers from virtually any country, including Turkey and EU nations.

With the right preparation, the H-2B visa offers a compliant and efficient route to meet your company’s temporary workforce needs in the U.S.