On May 14, 2018, the final rule related to H-2B cap relief for
fiscal year 2018 was transmitted to the Office of Management and
Budget for review. The final rule was published in the Federal
Register on Thursday, May 31, 2018. It allowed for an additional
15, 000 visas for employers who suffered "irreparable
harm" as a result of not being able to obtain visa employees.
As proof of this harm, employers are required to gather supporting
evidence of this harm and in the case of employers requesting an
April 1 through an April 14 start date to also perform an
additional test of the labor market to once again ensure a shortage
of domestic labor.
Unfortunately, USCIS received petitions for more beneficiaries
than the number of H-2B visas available under the supplemental cap.
This occurred within the first five days following the visa
release, which set up USCIS to conduct a lottery to randomly select
the petitions for H-2B visas. Employers praying for relief might
once
