Invitation Letter

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009). 

USCIS is hereby notifying the public that Jan. 7, 2009 was the “final receipt date” for new H-2B worker petitions requesting employment start dates prior to October 1, 2009.  The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determines that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the second half of FY2009.

USCIS will reject petitions for new H-2B workers seeking employment start dates prior to October 1, 2009 that arrive after Jan. 7, 2009.

If deemed necessary, USCIS may apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions that are subject to the cap and received on Jan. 7, 2009 in order to select the number of petitions needed to meet the cap.  USCIS will reject, and return the fee, for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected.  

Petitions for workers who are currently in H-2B status do not count towards the congressionally mandated bi-annual H-2B cap.  USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:

• Extend the stay of a current H-2B worker in the United States;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-2B workers and extend their stay; or
• Allow current H-2B workers to change or add employers and extend their stay.

More information about the H-2B work program is available by calling the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

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