Approvals and refusals worldwide

H2B · Temporary non-agricultural worker

For seasonal or temporary non-farm work, such as in hospitality and landscaping. How many applications were approved and refused, every fiscal year with data.

Source: U.S. Department of State, NIV workload by visa category · Unofficial

Visa category

H2B visas · FY2024

96% approved

139,541 approved (issued) · 6,072 refused · 145,613 applications, worldwide.

Approved share by year

Choose a year

87%88%88%89%89%93%94%95%95%96%

1420152016201720182019202120222023202420

Every year

Fiscal year	Approved	Refused	Applications	Approved %
FY2024	139,541	6,072	145,613	96%
FY2023	131,704	6,745	138,449	95%
FY2022	124,644	6,712	131,356	95%
FY2021	95,053	5,911	100,964	94%
FY2019	97,623	6,969	104,592	93%
FY2018	83,774	10,218	93,992	89%
FY2017	83,600	9,915	93,515	89%
FY2016	84,627	11,375	96,002	88%
FY2015	69,684	9,188	78,872	88%
FY2014	68,102	10,533	78,635	87%

A fiscal year runs from October to September. Refused counts the applications still refused at the end of the year.

The State Department publishes refusal rates by nationality for visitor (B) visas only. For H2B you can see the worldwide numbers above. See B visas by nationality →

In plain words

Refusal rate: Out of 100 people who applied, how many were told no. A 20% refusal rate means about 20 in 100 were refused.
Adjusted: The State Department leaves out people who were refused for paperwork reasons and later got the visa, so the number is fairer.
Approved: The visa was issued. We show it as what is left after the refusals.
Applications (workload): Everyone the embassies decided on in the year: visas issued plus visas refused.
Fiscal year (FY): The U.S. government year, October to September. FY2025 is October 2024 to September 2025.

H2B in short

How many H2B visa applications are approved?

Worldwide in FY2024, 139,541 of 145,613 H2B visa applications were approved (issued), about 96%, and 6,072 were refused. This is a group figure, not a prediction for any one person.

Visa Status is an unofficial site and does not give immigration advice. These numbers describe all applications worldwide in one fiscal year. They do not predict what will happen to any one applicant.