10 Seasonal Jobs Most Commonly Filled on H-2B Visas
The H-2B visa fills temporary, non-agricultural jobs that rise and fall with the seasons. These are the ten most-certified H-2B occupations, what each one involves, and where and when they hire
The H-2B visa lets U.S. employers hire foreign workers for temporary, non-agricultural jobs they can't fill with U.S. workers. The work has to be temporary in one of four ways: seasonal, peakload (a short spike on top of permanent staff), intermittent, or a one-time job.
That's why H-2B visa jobs cluster in a handful of seasonal industries: landscaping and grounds work, hotels and resorts, restaurants, seafood and food processing, forestry, construction, and amusement and recreation. Farm work is the main exception, since agricultural labor runs through the separate H-2A visa.
In fiscal year 2025, the Department of Labor certified 232,434 H-2B positions, and ten occupations accounted for most of them. Below are the ten most-certified H-2B jobs, what each one involves, and where and when they hire.
| Rank | Occupation | Positions certified | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 89,013 | 38.3% |
| 2 | Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 15,727 | 6.8% |
| 3 | Forest and conservation workers | 13,756 | 5.9% |
| 4 | Cooks, restaurant | 11,110 | 4.8% |
| 5 | Amusement and recreation attendants | 9,622 | 4.1% |
| 6 | Construction laborers | 8,847 | 3.8% |
| 7 | Fast food and counter workers | 8,408 | 3.6% |
| 8 | Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers | 8,109 | 3.5% |
| 9 | Waiters and waitresses | 7,100 | 3.1% |
Source: Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, H-2B Selected Statistics, FY2025 (as of September 30, 2025).
1. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
Landscaping is by far the biggest H-2B job, nearly four of every ten certified positions. Crews handle lawn care, planting, and grounds maintenance for commercial clients and municipalities. Hiring tracks the growing season, so northern states ramp up from around March through October. Two of the largest H-2B employers in the country, ABC Professional Tree Services and BrightView Landscapes, work in this field.
2. Maids and housekeeping cleaners
Hotels, resorts, and lodges bring in housekeeping staff for their busy season to clean rooms, change linens, and reset common areas. Demand follows tourism, so ski-country lodges hire for winter while Cape Cod and Myrtle Beach resorts staff up for summer, often posting openings six months ahead of peak.
3. Forest and conservation workers
This is manual work in the woods: tree planting, brush clearing, and reforestation on public and private land. Crews concentrate in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, with hiring cycles that start in late winter. Strongwood Forestry is among the largest H-2B employers in this category.
4. Cooks, restaurant
Resort and tourist-town restaurants hire cooks to prepare and cook meals through their peak season. Ski-resort kitchens fill for winter, while Cape Cod and Outer Banks restaurants fill for summer, so the timing depends on the region.
5. Amusement and recreation attendants
Amusement parks, waterparks, and destination resorts staff up for their season with attendants who run rides and games and handle equipment. Ski resorts, summer waterparks, and large recreation venues are the main employers.
6. Construction laborers
Construction firms turn to H-2B when a short-term surge in work outpaces the local labor pool. Laborers handle site prep, cleanup, and materials. Coastal resort and tourism-infrastructure contractors in the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast are the steadiest H-2B users in this trade.
7. Fast food and counter workers
Resort concessions, national-park food operators, and tourist-town quick-serve restaurants hire counter staff to take orders, prepare food, and handle payment through the busy months. These roles tend to open before each season starts.
8. Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
Seafood and meat processors bring in workers to cut, trim, and prepare product for sale. Alaskan crab and salmon processors dominate this category, alongside Gulf Coast shrimp and seafood plants. Westward Seafood is among the largest H-2B employers here.
9. Waiters and waitresses
Front-of-house restaurant roles cluster in the same resort-town restaurants as cooks, so an operator that sponsors cooks often sponsors servers too. For tipped roles, the required wage floor set for the job applies regardless of what you make in tips.
10. Janitors and cleaners
Rounding out the top ten, janitorial and building-cleaning roles keep resorts, venues, and facilities running through their busy season. The work covers common areas, back-of-house spaces, and general upkeep at seasonal operations.
Find H-2B visa jobs with employers who sponsor
The ranking tells you which jobs get certified. Migrate Mate shows you who's hiring. It lists H-2B visa jobs across these occupations using government disclosure data, so you only see employers with a real H-2B filing history, and connects you directly with the hiring manager.
Search thousands of verified H-2B jobs on Migrate Mate
Find your next roleFrequently asked questions
How do I apply for an H-2B job?
You don't apply for the H-2B visa yourself. The employer starts the process by getting a labor certification and filing a petition with USCIS, and you then apply for the visa at a U.S. consulate. Migrate Mate lists H-2B visa jobs from employers with a real filing history, drawn from government disclosure data, so you can apply directly to ones that sponsor.
What is the H-2B cap for 2026?
For fiscal year 2026, the H-2B cap is 66,000 visas set by law, split evenly between the two halves of the year, plus up to 64,716 supplemental visas the government added for FY2026, for up to 130,716 in total. Both halves of the statutory cap were reached early, so most later hiring runs through the supplemental visas (as of July 2026).
Which countries are eligible for the H-2B program?
Almost any country. A published list used to limit which nationalities could get an H-2B visa, but a rule that took effect in January 2025 removed that list, so workers from nearly any country can now qualify. The government can still exclude specific countries for security or program-integrity reasons.
What is the difference between H-2A and H-2B?
H-2A is for agricultural work and H-2B is for non-agricultural work. H-2A covers farm jobs like crop harvesting and livestock care, while H-2B covers the seasonal non-farm jobs in this ranking, such as landscaping, housekeeping, and seafood processing. They run on separate rules, and every job listed here is H-2B.
How long can I stay in the U.S. on an H-2B visa?
Usually as long as the job on your petition lasts, which is generally a year or less. You can extend in increments up to a three-year maximum, after which you generally have to leave the U.S. for a set period before returning on a new petition. Your exact dates are the ones listed on your job order and petition.
About the Author
Founder & CEO @ Migrate Mate
I moved from Australia to the United States in 2023. I have had 3 jobs, and 3 different visas. I started Migrate Mate to help people like me find their dream job in the USA & help them get visa sponsorship.
