The H-2B Visa Has No Application Form for Workers — and Half the Programme Expires on 30 September

H-2B visa 2027 application a worker can submit. Your employer files a Temporary Labor Certification (ETA-9142B) with the Department of Labor, then files Form I-129 with USCIS. You are the beneficiary, not the applicant. You only enter the process at the visa interview — after your employer has already secured a cap slot on your behalf.

If you have been searching “how to apply for H-2B visa,” the search has no answer, because the premise is wrong. That is not a small technicality. It is the single fact that every H-2B scam depends on you not knowing.

And there are two dates in September you need to understand, because the H-2B programme is about to get roughly half as big — unless Congress acts.

How the cap actually works

Congress sets the H-2B limit at 66,000 visas per fiscal year, split in half:

• 33,000 for workers starting in the first half (1 October – 31 March)
• 33,000 for workers starting in the second half (1 April – 30 September)

Unused numbers from the first half roll into the second half. Unused numbers do not roll into the next fiscal year — on 30 September the counter resets to zero.

When USCIS receives enough petitions to hit a cap, it announces a final receipt date and rejects everything filed after it. If more petitions arrive on the first day than there are visas, USCIS runs a random lottery.

Note what is being lotteried: petitions filed by employers. Not workers. Not applications. Not names on a list. There is no waiting list you can join and no queue you can pay to enter.

How fast it really closed this year

This is the part nobody publishes for workers, and it is the most useful thing on this page. Here is the FY 2026 record, straight from USCIS announcements:

Tranche	Visas	Closed
Statutory cap, first half FY2026	33,000	Final receipt date 12 September 2025
Statutory cap, second half FY2026	33,000	Final receipt date 10 March 2026
Supplemental, 1st allocation (returning workers)	18,490	Cap reached 6 February 2026 — lottery held 13 February
Supplemental, 2nd allocation (returning workers)	27,736	Cap reached 21 April 2026
Supplemental, 3rd allocation (open to all)	18,490 + unused	Filing closes 15 September 2026

Read the first supplemental row again. Filing opened on 30 January. The cap was hit by 6 February. Eight days, and then a lottery.

That is the reality of H-2B supply. Not “apply early.” Not “improve your chances.” The doors open and shut in days, and they shut on employers, not on you.

The one door still open — and it closes 15 September

Here is the genuinely actionable part.

Most of the FY2026 supplemental visas — 46,226 of the 64,716 — were reserved for returning workers, meaning people who were issued an H-2B visa or granted H-2B status in FY2023, FY2024 or FY2025. If you have never worked in the US on H-2B, those tranches were never available to you. They are also now closed.

The third allocation is different. It is 18,490 visas plus anything unused from the first two, it covers employment start dates from 1 May to 30 September 2026, and — this is the point — it is not limited to returning workers.

It is the only H-2B tranche this fiscal year that a first-time worker could be sponsored under. Employers must file by 15 September 2026, and USCIS will not issue approvals after 30 September 2026.

So if you are talking to a US employer right now about late-season work — landscaping, hospitality, seafood processing, tourism, construction — this is the window they are working inside. Not you. Them. But knowing the deadline tells you whether the conversation you are having is real. An employer who has not started a Temporary Labor Certification by mid-July is not getting you into this fiscal year.

One more condition worth knowing: supplemental visas are only available to businesses that attest they are suffering, or will suffer, irreparable harm — permanent and severe financial loss — without the workers. It is a real legal attestation with real consequences for the employer. It is not a box every company can tick.

The September cliff nobody is telling workers about

Now the part that matters most for next year.

The 64,716 supplemental visas did not come from the H-2B statute. They came from section 101 of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (Public Law 119-37), signed on 12 November 2025, which gave the Secretary of Homeland Security time-limited authority to raise the cap for FY2026 only.

USCIS states the position plainly on its own page: this increase is based on time-limited statutory authority that does not apply to the H-2B program in future fiscal years.

Do the arithmetic:

• FY2026: 66,000 statutory + 64,716 supplemental = 130,716
• FY2027, as things stand today: 66,000

The supplemental authority has to be granted again, by Congress, in FY2027 appropriations. Congress has done exactly that every year since FY2017 with one exception — FY2020. So the honest read is that renewal is likely on precedent.

But likely is not done. Until an FY2027 appropriations provision passes and DHS publishes a new temporary final rule, the programme that begins on 1 October 2026 is half the size of the one that ends on 30 September.

USCIS has also confirmed how the transition works: petitions requesting a start date after 30 September 2026 count towards the first-half statutory FY2027 cap. That cap is 33,000. Based on last year’s pattern — the FY2026 first half closed on 12 September 2025, roughly ten weeks after filing opened — expect the FY2027 first-half cap to fill around September 2026.

Key Takeaway: two September deadlines are converging. The FY2026 supplemental window closes on 15 September. The FY2027 first-half statutory cap is likely to fill around the same time. After that, for anyone without a petition already filed, the next realistic opening is the second half of FY2027 — start dates from 1 April 2027.

What the process actually looks like

So you can see where you fit, here is the whole sequence:

1. The employer proves temporary need and applies to the Department of Labor for a Temporary Labor Certification (ETA-9142B). This includes recruiting US workers first.
2. DOL certifies — or doesn’t.
3. The employer files Form I-129 with USCIS at the correct lockbox, inside the correct filing window, counting against the correct cap.
4. USCIS accepts, rejects, or lotteries the petition.
5. If approved, you — named on the petition — apply for the visa at a US embassy or consulate, attend an interview, and pay the visa fee.
6. You travel and start work on the date on the petition.

You appear at step five. Everything before that is your employer’s paperwork, your employer’s legal exposure, and your employer’s money. There is nothing for you to file, nothing to register, nothing to reserve.

One useful footnote: workers already in the US in H-2B status who extend their stay, change employers, or change their terms are generally not counted against the cap. That is why returning workers matter so much in this programme — the system is built to recycle people it has already admitted.

Key Takeaways

• There is no H-2B application for workers. The employer files ETA-9142B with DOL and Form I-129 with USCIS. You appear at the consular interview.
• The statutory cap is 66,000 a year — 33,000 per half. Unused numbers die at the end of the fiscal year.
• FY2026 closed fast: first half on 12 Sept 2025, second half on 10 March 2026. The first supplemental tranche lasted eight days.
• 46,226 of the 64,716 supplemental visas were returning-worker only. First-timers were never eligible for them.
• The third allocation (18,490 + unused) is open to everyone and closes 15 September 2026. It is the only current door for a first-time worker.
• FY2027 has no supplemental visas yet. The authority came from Public Law 119-37 and expires with FY2026. Until Congress renews it, the programme from 1 October is 66,000, not 130,716.

Who this doesn’t work for

Be honest with yourself before you spend anything:

• Anyone without a real US employer already engaged with DOL. No employer, no certification, no petition, no visa. There is no independent route in.
• Anyone hoping to apply directly. Covered above, but it bears repeating because it is the whole scam economy.
• Anyone treating H-2B as immigration. It is temporary, non-agricultural, seasonal work. It does not lead to a green card and it is not a settlement route. Your status ends when the season ends.
• First-time workers chasing “returning worker” tranches. Three quarters of this year’s supplemental visas were closed to you by design.
• Anyone talking to an employer who hasn’t started the paperwork. If they have no certified TLC in mid-July, they are not bringing you in before 30 September. That is arithmetic, not pessimism.
• Anyone assuming next season looks like this one. The programme may be half the size on 1 October. Plan for 66,000, and treat renewal as a bonus.

The scam warning

H-2B is one of the most heavily defrauded routes in the world, precisely because the real process is invisible to the worker. Refuse all of this:

• Anyone selling you an “H-2B application” or “H-2B registration.” Neither exists. There is no worker-side form, no portal, no registration, no waiting list.
• Anyone charging you for a job offer or a petition. The employer pays for the petition. An employer charging you to be sponsored is a red flag about that employer, not a favour.
• “Guaranteed H-2B visa,” “guaranteed lottery selection,” “priority processing.” The lottery is random and it selects employer petitions. Nobody sells access to it.
• Anyone asking for money before you have seen a certified Temporary Labor Certification and a petition receipt. Those are real documents. Ask for them.
• Recruiters who cannot name the employer. A real H-2B job has a named US employer, a named worksite, a certified job order and a start date. Vagueness is the product.
• “Apply now before the cap closes.” You cannot apply. The urgency is manufactured, and it is aimed at people who do not know that.
• Anyone quoting supplemental visas for FY2027 as a certainty. They have not been authorised. If your recruiter is confidently selling next year’s extra visas, they are selling something that does not exist yet.

If you suspect fraud or abuse, USCIS and ICE both take tips from anyone — including workers.

What you can actually do

1. Verify the employer, not the recruiter. A named US company, a real worksite, a real season.
2. Ask whether the Temporary Labor Certification is certified, and when the I-129 was filed or will be filed. A legitimate employer knows both answers immediately.
3. Understand which cap they are filing against. Third supplemental allocation, closing 15 September? Or the FY2027 first half, start date on or after 1 October? The answer tells you when you would actually travel.
4. If you have held H-2B status in FY2023, FY2024 or FY2025, say so early. Returning-worker status is the most valuable thing you have in this programme, and it is what most of the supplemental supply is reserved for.
5. Pay nothing until there is a petition receipt. Not a deposit, not a processing fee, not a “reservation.”
6. Watch September. The supplemental window shuts on the 15th; the FY2027 first-half cap will likely fill around the same time. If nothing has been filed for you by then, your realistic target is the second half of FY2027 — start dates from 1 April.

The H-2B programme is real, the wages are real, and tens of thousands of people do it every year. But it runs on the employer’s paperwork and the government’s calendar, and it moves in days, not months.

Knowing that you are not the applicant is not bad news. It is the thing that stops you paying someone for a form that does not exist.

FAQ

Q1. Can I apply for an H-2B visa myself? No. There is no H-2B application for workers. Your employer must obtain a certified Temporary Labor Certification (ETA-9142B) from the Department of Labor and then file Form I-129 with USCIS. You are the beneficiary. You enter the process only at the visa interview stage, after a petition has been approved.

Q2. What is the H-2B cap for 2027? The statutory cap is 66,000 per fiscal year — 33,000 for start dates in the first half (1 October to 31 March) and 33,000 for the second half (1 April to 30 September). The 64,716 supplemental visas available in FY2026 came from time-limited authority under Public Law 119-37 that does not apply to future fiscal years. Unless Congress authorises supplemental visas again, FY2027 is 66,000.

Q3. Are there H-2B visas still available in 2026? The third supplemental allocation — 18,490 visas plus any unused from earlier allocations — covers start dates from 1 May to 30 September 2026 and is not limited to returning workers. Employers must file by 15 September 2026, and USCIS will not approve petitions after 30 September 2026.