Navigating the New H-2A and H-2B Rule: What Employers and Workers Need to Know

A new Department of Homeland Security rule for the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs will take effect on January 17, 2025. The rule modernizes the programs by eliminating the list of eligible countries, simplifying how workers’ maximum stay is calculated, and expanding grace periods to give workers more time before and after employment ends. It also allows H-2 workers to start a new job as soon as a new petition is filed, increasing mobility. The rule strengthens worker protections by banning recruitment fees, authorizing petition denials for employers with labor violations, adding whistleblower protections, and clarifying USCIS’s authority to conduct compliance reviews and inspections.