Exercise of Time-Limited Authority To Increase the Fiscal Year 2026 Numerical Limitation for the H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Worker Program

What it does

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, is exercising time-limited Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 authority to issue up to, but not more than, an additional 64,716 visas for the fiscal year. All of these supplemental visas will be available only to those American businesses that are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm, i.e., those facing permanent and severe financial loss, as attested by the employer. These supplemental visas will be distributed in three allocations based on the petitioner's start date of need through the end of the fiscal year.

The Employment and Training Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

2 parts of Title 8, 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

8 CFR 214, 20 CFR 655

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Employment and Training Administration has published 6 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 8 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1205-AC32, 1615-AD16 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

Effective Dates: This final rule is effective from January 30, 2026, through September 30, 2026, except for 20 CFR 655.69, which is effective from January 30, 2026, through September 30, 2029.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket ETA-2026-0034 on Regulations.gov
• Title 8 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register