H-2B Provision Stays in Congress-Approved Spending Bill
Image:
Description:
Photo: Rick Samuels
A provision to the spending bill could allow more H-2B work visas, which are used by some backstretch workers
An industry-supported provision that could allow additional foreign, seasonal H-2B visa workers made it through Congress as part of the government-funding bill signed by the Senate May 4.
As the House of Representatives approved the spending bill earlier this week, it now awaits an expected quick signature from President Donald Trump.
Currently only 66,000 H-2B seasonal work visas are allowed to be granted this year, but a provision in the spending bill, which funds the government through the fiscal year that ends in September, would give the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, the authority to nearly double the H-2B cap when it's determined there is an economic need.
National Thoroughbred Racing Association president Alex Waldrop said the NTRA will now work with the administration to get the H-2B provision implemented.
Horse racing is just one of many industries that relies on the H-2B visa program, joining businesses such as landscaping and seasonal resorts.
Congress in 2016 failed to renew the "returning worker exemption" that permits H-2B workers from the previous three years with clean records to enter the country again without counting against the 66,000 cap. That exemption had effectively raised the number of workers under H-2B from 66,000 to approximately 190,000.