Letter to Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security and Martin Walsh, U.S. Department of Labor - Sen. Cramer, Bipartisan Colleagues Call for More H-2B Visas to Support Seasonal Small Businesses

Letter

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Angus King (I-ME) in calling for the Biden Administration to raise the H-2B seasonal worker visa cap. In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Marty Walsh, the senators share the need for additional workers as seasonal businesses across the country struggle to find employees as the economy recovers, and call for the maximum number of H-2B visas allowable be released in 2022.

DHS is authorized to release a total of 64,716 additional visas this fiscal year, 20,000 of which have already been released -- this leaves tens of thousands of additionally authorized visas available for the remainder of the year.

"We urge that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), utilize the authority provided by Congress to release the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22)," wrote the senators. "We further request that your agencies take steps to process pending H-2B applications in advance of the start of the April 1 hiring period for the second half of FY22, including by instituting emergency procedures previously used by DOL to address labor certification processing delays."

"American businesses from industries such as tourism and hospitality, landscaping, fairs and carnivals, seafood processing, golf courses, reforestation, contractors and horse racing depend on seasonal employment to meet the demand across many industries. Without meaningful H-2B cap relief, many seasonal businesses will be forced to scale back operations, cancel or default on contracts, lay off full-time U.S. workers and, in some cases, close operations completely," continued the letter. "By taking action to release and process additional H-2B visas, seasonal businesses and U.S. workers across the country will avoid these harmful consequences and instead help contribute to the American economy."

Senators Cramer, Rounds, and King are joined on the letter by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), James Risch (R-ID), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Thomas Carper (D-DE), John Cornyn (R-TX), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mark Warner (D-VA), John Thune (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), John Barrasso (R-WY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Tim Scott (R-SC).