Saving Seafood

Homeland Security keeps H-2B cap at 66,000, leaving seafood processors facing uncertain future

May 13, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will not increase the cap on H-2B visas for the 2020 fiscal year, but the agency is implementing a new rule it said will give food processors more flexibility to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rule, scheduled to be published Thursday, 14 May, will allow companies to hire current visa holders already in the country for work, according to a statement posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services site.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump administration expected to add 30,000 more foreign workers temporarily into the U.S.

May 7, 2019 — The Trump administration plans to allow 30,000 more foreign workers temporarily into the United States for seasonal work through the end of September, a move that reflects how the booming economy has complicated President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict legal immigration.

Details of the plan were in a draft rule obtained by The Associated Press.

It would benefit oyster shucking companies, fisheries, loggers and seasonal hotels, including Trump’s own Mar-a-Lago club — all of which use the visas to hire migrants for temporary work they say Americans won’t do.

The visas, known as H-2Bs, will be granted only to returning foreign workers who have had the visa before, over the last three fiscal years. Many of the visa holders return to the same employers year after year. Those workers have already been vetted and are trusted and not likely to stay past their visa, officials said.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin taking applications from employers on behalf of the workers once the temporary rule is published in the Federal Register, expected on Wednesday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at USA Today