U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that on November 16, 2020, the 33,000 cap on H-2B non-agricultural seasonal worker positions with start dates the first half of FY 2021 (October 1, 2020-March 31, 2021) was reached.
USCIS will not accept any more H-2B cap-subject petitions for temporary jobs beginning before April 1, 2020.
Complicating matters for employers seeking to bring H-2B workers from abroad is a June 2020 Presidential Proclamation prohibiting the entry of H-2B workers unless they will be filling jobs in the food supply chain that remains in effect through December 31, 2020, and which may well be extended by the administration beyond that date.
Workers already in the U.S. on H-2B petitions are not subject to the entry bar created by the Presidential Proclamation, and may also be exempt from the cap.
Maine employers who need temporary foreign workers to meet their labor needs can get more information about the cap and which workers are exempt from the H-2B visa cap here.