US immigration freezes Q visas to ski resort
December 09 2008 by Gareth McConnell
US immigration officials have stopped the supply of USA visas to a popular ski resort hoping to bring in 400 international ski and snowboard instructors under a cultural exchange programme, known as a Q visas.
Vail Resorts, which annually requires 1,900 H-2B visas, hoped to benefit from a cultural ambassador programme used in other resort areas such as Disneyland after the nationwide cap of 66,000 H-2B visas for America was reached earlier in the year.
“The requirements for the visas are very specific, and USCIS wanted to make sure Vail Resorts’ program met the visa’s specifications,” said Kristin Williams, a spokeswoman for Vail Resorts.
“Immigration officials wanted more information about Vail Resort’s cultural exchange program before any more visas were issued.”
Under the programme, instructors are introduced as cultural exchange ambassadors and share their native languages and cultures with guests.
A provision allowing returning worker permit holders to be exempt from the cap expired this year, meaning that many international restaurant workers, ski instructors, lift operators and other mountain workers were unable to return this season.
USA
UK
Australia
Canada
South Africa
New Zealand
Ireland
India
China
Philippines