U.S. senators are once again pushing legislation that would exempt temporary migrant seafood workers from counting against the national cap for H2-B visas, ensuring the industry can hire the seasonal workforce it needs.
“Virginia’s seafood industry relies on seasonal, H2-B workers to help meet demand during peak season,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) said in a statement. “Without this workforce, many of Virginia’s seafood processors would simply have to close up shop.”
Seafood processors rely on temporary migrant laborers to fill out their seasonal workforce; however, processors must compete against other industries to secure the H2-B visas they need. The U.S. government caps the national number of H2-B visas at 66,000, and while the government is authorized to double the amount of visas available – and it frequently does so – the seafood industry still struggles to secure as many visas as it needs.
“Our fourth-generation family crab-processing facility in Hampton, [Virginia], continues to struggle to keep our doors open! The H-2B program has been our lifeline the last 30 years, and without congressional help, we will perish,” Graham & Rollins President John Graham III said in a statement. “The current lottery system currently deployed by Homeland Security is not feasible to sustain any kind of business and frankly is a disaster!”
Without H2-B workers, seafood processors ...
