The H-2B Visa Cap
Each year, there are 66,000 H-2B visas available, div
ided between two halves of the fiscal year (starting in October and April). For the last two years, there have been more visas available than in the past, but it seems that H-2B visa usage is picking up again.
Is There Still Time to File?
To figure out if there is still time to file for an H-2B, you need to know two things: 1) how long the process takes, and 2) when the visas are likely to cap out.
Normally it takes 5-7 weeks to complete the labor certification process and then file the I-129 petition to reserve your H-2B visas. In some states, there is a 30-day requirement for the job order (instead of the 10-day minimum mandated by the US Department of Labor), so you would need to add an extra 3 weeks.
Judging from USCIS updates on the number of H-2B visa petitions received and approved, we can estimate when the visas will run out. As seen below, it looks like visa petitions will likely cap out in mid-February. This assumes a target of 33,000 visas. (In the past, USCIS had a target of 47,000 to account for petitions that were denied, abandoned, or withdrawn, but it has not published a target number this year.)
It looks too late for an H-2B petition to be filed for the first half of this year. Any new petition should probably have a start date of April 1, 2012 or later.