The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it has received enough applications to meet the H-2B visa cap for the first half of fiscal year 2025.

Long-term care providers sometimes hire workers as short-term personal care assistants, nursing assistants, and home health aides under this program.

Congress currently limits the program to 66,000 visas per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year, which ends March 31, and 33,000 (plus any unused visas from the first half of the fiscal year) for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year.

September 18 was the last day to receive applications from new H-2B workers subject to the salary cap who wish to begin work before April 1. The agency continues to accept applications from current H-2B workers in the United States who are extending their stay, changing employers, or changing the terms of their employment.

Representatives of the nursing industry have long held the view that foreign nurses could solve the shortage of skilled workers in this sector. But the US immigration policy makes it difficult to recruit sufficient numbers of immigrants. They already make up 20 percent of registered nurses and 15 percent of state-certified nurses in nursing homes.

According to a recent report by LeadingAge, “Current immigration policies stand in the way of strengthening long-term service and support staff. To this end, the national association suggests that the government increase the annual caps on work-based visas, remove the country-specific restriction on work-based immigration and reduce the time required for work permits.”