Senators Carper, Coons, Colleagues Push Administration to Release Additional Seasonal Work Visas to Support Small Businesses
U.S. Senators Tom Carper, Chris Coons, and a bipartisan group of colleagues are urging the Biden administration to release more H-2B seasonal work visas to help small businesses cope with labor shortages, particularly in Delaware’s agriculture and tourism sectors. They argue that these visas are crucial for employers who struggle to find enough American workers for temporary positions, especially during peak seasons. The senators highlighted that the H-2B program prioritizes U.S. workers and contributes to lower unemployment and higher wages in areas with H-2B employers. They noted that the cap for H-2B visas was reached earlier than last year, leaving many seasonal employers without the necessary labor as their busy periods approach, potentially hindering their operations.
Additional Information:
U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and 36 of their colleagues sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Acting Secretary Julie Su of the U.S. Department of Labor, urging the departments to address the seasonal labor shortage by releasing the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas for fiscal year 2025.
Employers must first make a concerted effort to hire American works for open positions, but when there are not enough Americans to fill temporary positions, H-2B visas help small businesses meet their labor needs. During the busy summer seasons, Delaware businesses – especially in the agriculture and tourism sectors – are often dependent on foreign workers given local staffing shortages. Releasing the maximum number of H-2B visas will help Delaware’s farms operate at full capacity and its beach towns remain open for visitors.
“Many employers turn to the H-2B program to meet their workforce needs to not only sustain their businesses, but also support their American workers,” the senators wrote. “The H-2B program places requirements on employers to recruit U.S. workers, who are intentionally prioritized by the program and also receive demonstrated, positive impacts from their seasonal colleagues. In fact, a 2020 Government Accountability Office report concluded that ‘counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties that do not have any H-2B employers.’
“The most current employment data illustrates the workforce struggles of seasonal businesses nationwide,” the senators continued. “The Department of Labor’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Surveys … show the rate of job openings have increased year over year for the industries that represent the top five H-2B occupations. As you know, the [fiscal year] 2025 H-2B first half fiscal year cap was met on September 18, 2024 – roughly three weeks earlier than the cap was met in [fiscal year] 2024. The result is that seasonal employers whose peak seasons are in late fall and winter are capped out before their period of seasonal need begins. Absent cap relief, these employers will be unable to receive temporary, U.S. government-vetted guest workers.”
In addition to Senators Carper, Coons, King, and Rounds, the letter was signed by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), George Helmy (D-N.J.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
The full text of the letter is available here.
