Navigate the H-2B seasonal worker program timeline and cap for a landscape company

Steps

1. Confirm the need for temporary, non-agricultural seasonal/peakload labor consistent with H-2B rules (landscaping is one of the heaviest-usage industries nationally).
2. File for a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) with DOL's National Prevailing Wage Center before recruitment.
3. File the H-2B petition within the window of no earlier than 90 days and no later than 75 days before the requested start date.
4. Track the statutory cap (66,000/year split 33,000 per half) and watch for any DHS/DOL supplemental visa allocation for the fiscal year, since supplemental numbers and their filing deadlines are announced separately each year and change annually.
5. Plan for oversubscription risk on cap-subject petitions — recent cap cycles have been oversubscribed several times over, so file at the earliest permitted date.
6. Verify current-year cap counts and supplemental visa rules on USCIS/DOL before finalizing seasonal staffing plans, since the numbers and deadlines are reset annually by rule.