On April 30, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced the completion of its review of the regulation providing additional H-2B visas for FY2019. OMB approval of the final rule allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to move forward with publication of a final rule and expected release of 30,000 additional H-2B visas in the near future.

A prepublication copy of the final H-2B rule can be found here.

The official version will be published in the Federal Register on May 8. Starting on the expected date of May 8, eligible petitioners seeking H-2B returning workers can file their request. The visas will be granted only to returning foreign workers who have had the visa before, over the last three fiscal years. DHS says many of the visa holders return to the same employers year after year. Those workers have already been vetted and are trusted and not likely to stay past their visa, officials said.

During the 2019 National Golf Day event held in Washington, D.C., May 1, 281 golf industry attendees in 245 Congressional meetings let members of Congress and their Congressional staff know how important it was for DHS to immediately release the additional H-2B visas. GCSAA is encouraged by this latest development.

Read the official press release from DHS.