H-2B visa

Definition

The seasonal work visa many landscapers depend on, capped nationally and issued in filing order.

Why It Matters

A book staffed this way carries labor risk that has to be priced. The statutory cap is 66,000 a year, split evenly across the two halves, and visas go in the order petitions are filed. Random selection is the tie-break when the cap fills on one day, not the general mechanism, so the filing date is what a crew's season turns on. Homeland Security has released supplemental visas in most recent years under a time-limited authority, which can approach the cap again and arrives mid-season on an irreparable-harm attestation. Ask what the last three seasons actually looked like, who files the paperwork, and what the plan is when the filing date goes the wrong way. Domestic recruiting at short notice is the expensive answer, and it is the usual one.