Homeland Security issues 15,000 additional H-2B visas

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it would provide businesses another 15,000 H-2B visas to bring low-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. this summer, according to the Boston Globe newspaper. This would aid seasonal employers, including landscapers.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen raised the cap on H-2B visas after determining there weren’t enough qualified U.S. workers to meet the needs of employers, according to the Boston Globe report. The same situation happened last year, but Homeland Security didn’t issue extra visas until July in 2017.

“The limitations on H-2B visas were originally meant to protect American workers, but when we enter a situation where the program unintentionally harms American businesses it needs to be reformed,” Nielsen said in a statement. “I call on Congress to pass much needed reforms of the program and to expressly set the number of H-2B visas in statute. We are once again in a situation where Congress has passed the buck and turned a decision over to DHS that would be better situated with Congress, who knows the needs of the program.”

The visas, for temporary nonagricultural workers, are in addition to the 66,000 visas already issued this year, half of which are for the summer. On Jan. 1, the first day requests could be submitted for those 33,000 slots, the Department of Labor received applications for more than 81,000 H-2B positions, three times the number received that same day in 2017, the Boston Globe reported.

The increase in demand for foreign workers is due to a low national unemployment rate and fewer Americans willing to work in seasonal labor positions, according to the Boston Globe.

To read the full report from the Boston Globe, click here.