Friday, March 6, 2020

Trump Administration to Make 35,000 Additional Seasonal Worker H-2B Visas Available

The Trump administration said it is making an additional 35,000 seasonal guest-worker visas available this year ahead of the busy summer season, the largest increase since President Trump took office.

The additional visas announced Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security will bring the total available this year to 101,000, though the additional visas will primarily be made available to returning workers.

Congress permits the Department of Homeland Security each year to raise that cap by as many as 64,000 additional visas.

DHS is adding new restrictions on the additional visas, which some administration officials and outside critics of the move said could limit how many of the visas will actually be used.

The visas will become available to employers in two tranches: 20,000 immediately and an additional 15,000 for employees beginning work on or after May 15.

The additional visas are being made available ahead of the summer, when demand for short-term work is typically highest.

Thursday's decision comes amid a broader debate inside the Trump administration over legal immigration, with some officials arguing American workers will see wages rise only if foreign workers are prevented from competing with them for jobs and undercutting them, while others believe more immigrants are needed to sustain the economic growth that Mr. Trump will put at the center of his re-election campaign.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-to-make-35-000-additional-seasonal-worker-h-2b-visas-available-forsummer-11583431680?mod=hp_listb_pos3

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