It appears the H-2B visa expansion announced earlier this month by the federal government may be in a state of flux.
When the Department of Homeland Security made its announcement on Thursday, 5 March, it said that further details about the visa allocation process would be published in a temporary final rule.
But it has been more than two weeks since the announcement, and a check of the Federal Register shows no rule has been published. Since then, the coronavirus has become a pandemic, bringing much of the U.S. economy to a standstill.
A spokesman for U.S Citizen and Immigration Services on Friday, 20 March, referred questions regarding an update on the plan to DHS. A message sent to Homeland Security on Friday was not immediately returned.
A firm that works with companies for H-2A and H-2B visas and workers told SeafoodSource on Friday that it seems to be a developing situation.
Robert McCubbin, president of Texas-based H2 Visa Consultants said that some countries, like Nicaragua and Jamaica, are not processing any H-2B workers. South Africa, meanwhile, has announced it will process H-2A workers who work in season agricultural positions, but it’s uncertain whether officials there would process H-2B workers, who serve as temporary laborers in other seasonal fields, including seafood processing.
“We're kind of hoping, worst-case scenario, end of April or something like that, or even end of May, that if it opens back up by then that a good percentage of our employers that are in the hospitality business, landscaping, construction will still have a long enough season to, to move forward with bringing workers over,” McCubbin said.
McCubbin’s company also works with seafood companies, like Alaska Glacier Seafoods, Inc., who will likely shoot for a June start for their workers, he said.
Earlier this week, the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigration think tank, said the Trump administration should rescind the expansion because of the pandemic. The group said that would help limit the spread of the coronavirus and would help get more Americans back to work.
However, McCubbin said in the case of companies like Alaska Glacier, they’re simply unable to meet their needs with American workers.
“The state workforce agency has worked really hard through the application process the last couple of years to find them U.S. workers, and even if they get them 20 applicants, like 15 of them legitimately don't call in, don't follow up with the interview or don't show up to work after they're hired,” he said. “The rest of them quit after a week or two. That’s kind of the trend we’ve seen.”
McCubbin said that if the 35,000 extra visas come through, some of the stipulations placed on them – such as 10,000 being earmarked only for certain countries – has made it difficult for recruiters, who have been working for months to find workers available in the countries permitted under the rules.
Still, McCubbin said it may not be too late for companies to submit visa requests. If they do so now, they would likely get approved in July, he said.
Over the past few years, there have been discussions between lawmakers and Trump administration officials about expanding the visa program. Legislators want DHS to act and expand the number of visas available, and DHS and other officials believe that should be handled by the U.S. Congress via legislation.
McCubbin said he agrees that Congress needs to act to address the issue, and that the ideal visa cap should be double the current 66,000.
“That's within their realm, and they just essentially keep passing the buck to the administration and to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said. “From my understanding the last couple of years, they've almost gotten it done, and essentially it blows up at the last second.”
Photo courtesy of Stockfour/Shutterstock
