Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Mike Rounds (R-SD), along with a bipartisan group of their colleagues, signed a letter sent on October 23, 2024, to the secretaries of the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL) urging them to lift the H-2B cap and release the maximum number of additional H-2B visas allowed for fiscal year (FY) 2025, as has been done in the past.
The letter says that the senators “write on behalf of seasonal businesses in our states—including employers of housekeepers in tourist destinations, landscapers with defined seasons, seafood processors with short harvesting windows, and fairs and carnivals—who are struggling to hire a sufficient number of temporary, seasonal laborers to support their operations.” In light of these labor shortages, the letter says, “we strongly urge [DHS], in consultation with [DOL], to utilize the authority provided by Congress in the FY 2025 Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act to release the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2025, as you did for Fiscal Year 2024. These visas will help employers handle their labor challenges, and provide additional certainty regarding their workforce planning decisions in the coming months. We urge you to promptly publish a temporary rule implementing the release of these supplemental visas.”
The letter notes that many employers turn to the H-2B program to meet their workforce needs not only to sustain their businesses but also to support their U.S. workers. “The H-2B program places requirements on employers to recruit U.S. workers, who are intentionally prioritized by the program and also receive demonstrated, positive impacts from their seasonal colleagues. In fact, a 2020 Government Accountability Office report concluded that ‘counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties that do not have any H-2B employers.’ ” The letter states:
The most current employment data illustrates the workforce struggles of seasonal businesses nationwide. [DOL’s] Job Openings and Labor Turnover Surveys (JOLTS) show the rate of job openings have increased year over year for the industries that represent the top five H-2B occupations. As you know, the FY 2025 H-2B first half fiscal year cap was met on September 18, 2024—roughly three weeks earlier than the cap was met in FY 2024. The result is that seasonal employers whose peak seasons are in late fall and winter are capped out before their period of seasonal need begins. Absent cap relief, these employers will be unable to receive temporary, U.S. government-vetted guest workers.