H-2B Filing Window Opens July 3: What Employers Must Know

The H-2B Filing Window Opens July 3. Here Is What You Need to Know.

If you are planning to bring H-2B workers on board for an October 1 start date, the clock is ticking. The Department of Labor has announced that the filing window to submit H-2B Applications for Temporary Employment Certification for an October 1, 2026 start date runs from July 3 to July 5, 2026. This three-day period is the earliest an employer may file an application for an October 1 start date, which marks the first day of the semiannual visa allotment for the first half of Fiscal Year 2027.

Three days. That is your window. And if you are not ready when it opens, you are not getting in.

Why October 1 Matters

October 1 is the beginning of the federal fiscal year and the start of the first semiannual H-2B visa allotment. Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year running October 1 through March 31, and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half running April 1 through September 30.

That first half allotment of 33,000 visas fills fast. Employers across landscaping, hospitality, seafood processing, construction, and forestry are all filing for the same pool of workers at the same time. The employers who file during the opening three-day window give themselves the best possible shot at getting their workers certified before the cap fills.

What Happens During the Three-Day Window

This is not first come, first served in the traditional sense. OFLC uses a randomization process to select H-2B applications for review from among all those received during the initial three calendar days. That means filing on July 3 puts you in the same randomized pool as someone who files on July 5. What matters is getting your application in during those three days, not being first by a few minutes.

Here is how OFLC structures that randomized pool. Applications are divided into two groups. Group A consists of up to 35,000 worker positions selected from the applications received during the filing window. A subsequent group covers remaining applications totaling no more than 20,000 additional worker positions. Group A applications are processed first. If the statutory cap fills during Group A processing, applications in the subsequent group do not get certified. This is why a complete and accurate application matters so much — anything that slows down your processing within the pool puts you at risk of falling outside the cap.

OFLC will publish its first processing update on July 10th, giving employers an early read on how quickly the cap is filling and which group their application landed in.

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What You Need to Have Ready Before July 3

This is where most employers run into problems. The three-day window sounds like plenty of time until you realize how much has to be done before you can file. Here is what needs to be in place before July 3.

Prevailing Wage Determination

Before you can file your H-2B application with DOL you need a Prevailing Wage Determination from the National Prevailing Wage Center. OFLC encourages employers to request a prevailing wage determination for the H-2B program at least 60 days before the date the determination is needed. For an October 1 start date that means your prevailing wage request should have been submitted by early May at the latest. If you have not done this yet, reach out to LCI immediately. This is the first step and it drives everything else.

Job Description and Duties

Your job order needs to accurately describe the positions you are filling, the qualifications required, the number of workers needed, the worksite location, and the wages you are offering. This is not the place to rush. DOL reviews these materials closely and errors or inconsistencies can result in denials or requests for additional information that delay your certification.

Recruitment Documentation

H-2B employers are required to conduct domestic recruitment before DOL will certify the need for foreign workers. That process runs concurrently with your application and includes a job order with your State Workforce Agency, worksite postings, outreach to former U.S. workers, and newspaper advertising. All of this documentation needs to be organized and ready.

If you want to understand the full scope of what domestic recruitment requires before you file, read our post on H-2B Recruitment Requirements: What Employers Need to Know.

What Happened This Year and Why It Matters for FY2027 Planning

To understand why the July window is so important, it helps to look at what happened during the current fiscal year.

As of March 10, 2026, USCIS received enough petitions to meet the H-2B statutory cap for the second half of fiscal year 2026. USCIS will reject any cap-subject petitions received after March 10, 2026 requesting an employment start date on or after April 1, 2026, and before October 1, 2026. Immigration Policy Tracking Project

That cap filled in a matter of weeks. Employers who were not ready lost out. Some were able to access supplemental visas, but USCIS received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 27,736 H-2B visas made available for the second allocation of returning workers for fiscal year 2026. Even the supplemental allocation filled up.

The lesson is straightforward. The base cap fills fast. The supplemental cap fills fast. If you want workers on the ground for your season you have to be filing during the initial window, not trying to catch up after the cap closes.

The Randomization Process

One thing worth understanding is how DOL handles applications received during the three-day window. All applications submitted between July 3 and July 5 are placed into a randomized queue for processing. This process has been in place for years. To give you a sense of the volume involved, during the three-day filing window of July 3 through 5, 2020 for the prior FY2021 cycle, OFLC received a total of 685 H-2B applications requesting 16,609 worker positions. Demand has only grown since then. 

This means two things for you as an employer. First, your application needs to be complete and accurate when you submit it. Incomplete applications slow things down and can result in deficiency notices that push you back in the queue. Second, having an experienced consultant handle your filing matters more than you might think. A consultant who knows how to prepare a clean, complete application the first time gives you the best possible position in the randomized queue.

What the July 10th Update Means for You

OFLC will release its first processing update on July 10th. This update will tell employers and consultants how many applications were received during the filing window, how many worker positions were requested, and which applications landed in Group A versus the subsequent group.

If you filed during the window and your application is in Group A you are in a strong position. If it landed in the subsequent group you are still in play but the update gives you the information you need to assess your situation and make decisions accordingly. LCI monitors these updates closely and will communicate directly with clients as soon as the July 10th data is available.

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What If You Miss the Window?

Missing the July 3 to 5 window does not automatically mean you are out of options, but it does significantly complicate things. Applications filed after the window closes are still processed but they come after the initial pool. If the cap fills during processing of the first group, late filers do not get certified.

Your other option at that point would be to wait for supplemental visa allocations if Congress authorizes them for FY2027, similar to what happened in FY2026. But supplemental visas are not guaranteed and they come with their own filing windows and eligibility requirements. Betting on supplemental availability is not a plan. It is a backup.

The only real plan is filing during the July window.

The Bottom Line

The July 3 to 5 filing window is not a suggestion. It is the mechanism through which FY2027 H-2B certifications begin. Employers who want workers on the ground by October 1 need to be filing during those three days with complete, accurate applications and all prerequisite steps already completed.

If you are reading this and you have not started the prevailing wage process yet, call us today. LCI has been navigating H-2B filings for over 26 years and we know what it takes to get employers through the July window successfully. The sooner you reach out the better position you will be in when July 3 arrives.

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