U.S Seasonal Employers Hit by H-2B Visa Limits
28/05/2008 by Charlotte Norman
With the cap for the U.S H-2B visas being hit so early it seems thousands of seasonal employers are being left helpless as their regular immigrant staff members are unable to enter the country and resume their regular roles.
The news has come with exceptional bad timing as the summer months are rapidly approaching. Many small businesses were relying on the labour skills of seasonal immigrant workers in order to get them through their peak time workloads.
With so many temporary workers being blocked by a cap on the number of foreign seasonal workers, summer industries are facing critical staffing dilemmas. Many such industries have become reliant on the routine of their familiar foreign workers returning to their regular posts.
A large sector of U.S businesses are being hit by this shortage of seasonal workers. Particular business areas which are feeling the pain of tightened restrictions on the H-2B U.S visas are landscapers and groundskeepers, maids and housekeepers, construction workers, forestry workers and welders.
A spokesperson from Planet (the Professional Landcare Network) says that "small landscape businesses could lose as much as $3 million this year because of the shortage of workers."
It seems the reason for this current dilemma amongst American businesses is the result of the implementation of increased restrictions on the H-2B visas, which are issued to non-agricultural seasonal workers.
The problem which has occurred this year has arrived as the allocated cap for summertime visas was met by January, subsequently meaning many employees' plans have become derailed.
The H-2B visa category is in place with the proposed ambition of allowing temporary workers to become employed by industries which experience peak load, seasonal or intermittent needs.
The United States issues around 66,000 H-2B visas with that number being set by Congress as the numerical limit per fiscal year. Half of this figure is allocated for the fall and winter and the other half accommodates spring and summer workers wishing to migrate for the season.
According to the U.S Citizenship and Immigration services Congress has not amended the returning worker provisions as set out in the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 to cover 2008 visa applications.
The reasoning behind the problem emerging this year relates to the recent efforts to extend the returning-worker exemption, which expired in September. However this Congressional debate became infused in a wider discussion concerning immigration reform, leaving it unresolved.
In recent years Congress has exempted from the limits to overseas employees who are returning to the country to retain working positions, however this year the exemption has not been continued.
The problem is not one which has come without debate; although many employees and business owners feel stranded without their intended labour. Some U.S officials feel that the cap has resulted with a positive effect as such companies will be forced to hire American labour, which in turn will aid eradicating current home labour market weaknesses.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform are publicly opposed to the seasonal worker visas and do not feel that the cap will create a national shortage. They say that "industries could attract more domestic workers simply by offering better pay."
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