H-2B Requirements

H-2B is for temporary non-agricultural work (H-2A covers agricultural work). A workable H-2B case usually depends on several things being true at once:

• the employer's need is genuinely temporary and fits a limited, defined time period
• the employer has obtained a Temporary Labor Certification (TLC) from the Department of Labor — this is required, not optional
• there are not enough able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers for the role
• the employer pays at least the prevailing wage and has demonstrated genuine efforts to recruit U.S. workers first
• the employer's filing package supports the case clearly

H-2B is also subject to an annual cap of 66,000 visas, split into two semiannual allocations of 33,000 each (October–March and April–September). It is not a general low-skill work visa. It is a cap-subject, temporary-worker category built around a specific employer-side case.

The employer's need cannot simply be short-term in a casual business sense. It has to fit the temporary-need logic the category requires, and the job must be for a limited, defined period — not indefinite or permanent.

At a practical level, that usually means the case needs to fit one of these temporary-need patterns:

• a one-time occurrence — a single event or project the employer has not previously needed workers for and will not need them for again
• a seasonal need — tied to a recurring season or period of the year
• a peak load need — a temporary increase in workload beyond the employer's permanent staff capacity
• an intermittent need — the employer has not employed permanent workers to perform the work but occasionally needs temporary workers for short periods

This is why many H-2B questions start with the job itself. Before the worker, before the fee, and before the filing package, the employer has to be able to explain why this labor need is temporary in the category-specific sense and for a limited, defined period.

H-2B is not only about proving there is work. The employer also has to support the labor-market side of the filing.

The petitioner must establish that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to perform the temporary work. Specifically, the employer must:

• Pay at least the prevailing wage for the occupation and area of intended employment, as determined by the DOL
• Conduct active recruitment of U.S. workers — the employer must demonstrate genuine attempts to recruit domestically before turning to foreign labor
• Show that employing H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers

That is why a simple staffing shortage narrative is not enough by itself. The filing has to support both the temporary-need story and the worker-protection side of the case, backed by real recruitment efforts and prevailing-wage compliance.

Once the temporary-need and labor-market theory are clear, the petition still has to be built correctly.

In practical terms, the filing usually depends on:

• the correct Form I-129 structure
• support that matches the temporary-need theory being claimed
• an approved Temporary Labor Certification (TLC) from the DOL — this is a required step, not optional
• a filing package that makes it obvious why the case belongs in H-2B instead of another category
• awareness of the 66,000 annual cap and the semiannual filing windows

A weakly assembled filing can still struggle even if the underlying business need is real.

A practical H-2B self-check is:

1. Is the need really temporary in a category-specific way?

2. Is the labor-market story strong enough?

3. Does the filing package support both of those points directly?

4. Would an outside reviewer understand the case quickly without guessing?

If the answer to any of those is no, the case usually needs more work before filing.