Elimination of H-2B Program
In Senate Immigration Compromise Bill
The Senate Immigration Compromise Bill (Discussion Draft dated 05/18/07, 11:58 PM) contains language starting at Section 401 that would terminate the current H-2B program and replace it with a new category, Y-2B. Attached is a one-page list highlighting the major changes contained in the proposed new Y-2B program, including (a) elimination of the Returning Worker Exemption, (b) a dramatic increase in fees and costs, and (c) a entire new regime of employer processing and reporting requirements. The new Y-2B program may also likely strike the opportunity for employers (i) to file for multiple workers or (ii) to substitute workers unable to travel to the US. As written, the elimination of the H-2B program in the Bill will destroy the temporary seasonal worker program that has enabled US small and seasonal employers to stay in business. Congress has Recognized the Need for a Temporary Seasonal Worker Program In each of the past two years, the US Senate and House of Representatives recognized the importance of the H-2B program to the lifeblood of communities in virtually every Congressional district and state when Congress passed The Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 and 2006. These Bills: Exempted workers from the cap who arrived in H-2B visa status in any of the three previous years and did nothing to violate the law or their status; Rewarded employers and workers who have followed US law; and punished those who did not; Maintained a tight cap on the number of H-2B workers allowed in the country each year; Continued the rigorous H-2B oversight and approval process currently provided by four separate Government Agencies (three Federal and one State). Eliminating the H-2B Program will Irreparably Harm America’s Small and Seasonal Businesses Few knowledgeable about the positive impact the H-2B program has had on communities and business from Coast-to-Coast can reasonably dispute the fact that this program has been a huge success. Employers have obeyed the law by trying to find every available US worker and then hiring only those workers lawfully admitted to work; and foreign workers have followed the law by retuning home each year and then applying for a new visa to return to the US. Participants in the H-2B program should be applauded and the program expanded – it should not be dismantled and then replaced with the proposed guest worker program. H-2B workers are like non-immigrants in other temporary categories (H-1B, L, I, R, O, P, etc.) who return home when their stays expire. Like all visa programs, the H-2B program needs strong oversight – including the H-2B program in the Bill language providing for greater oversight of the H-1B program would accomplish this objective without killing the program.
Talking Points
The Solution is Simple—Improve, Don’t Eliminate, the H-2B program Rather than eliminating the H-2B program, the Senate should work to improve it. In order to accomplish this, the draft Bill should be amended as follows: Strike Section 401(a)(1)(A) (the provision that eliminates the H-2B category); Strike from the Bill all provisions starting with Section 401(a)(1)(A) that refer to the creation of, operations of, and requirements for a Y-2B category; Amend Section 421 by adding the H-2B program to the enhanced oversight that will be provided to the H-1B program. Amend the title of Section 421 to read “H-1B and H-2B Government Authority and Requirements”; Amend Sub-Section 419(a) by adding the H-2B program to the same numerical limitations and formula as proposed for the H-1B program (i.e. 115,000 in FY 2008, and increasing to a maximum of 180,000 visas for any fiscal year); Insert a new Section 421A containing the language of the Save Small Business Act of 2007.