President Donald Trump’s administration will add some 65,000 H-2B seasonal guest worker visas through September 30, a Federal Register notice said, saying the visas would be available to employers at risk of severe financial hardship due to a lack of U.S. labor.
The move roughly doubles the 66,000 visas available each year to businesses such as construction, hospitality, landscaping and seafood processing, in a recognition that U.S. employers in those industries could be struggling to find workers.
Employers in the seasonal businesses – including hotels – have clamored for more visas. Some construction businesses have complained of a lack of workers during Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Groups that favor lower levels of immigration oppose the visas, saying they undercut wages for U.S. workers.
Trump has made it harder for tech businesses to obtain workers through the H-1B program, tacking on a $100,000 fee that has triggered a legal challenge.
REUTERS
