Harris Issues Statement on Additional H-2B Visas
WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD), Acting Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee is pleased to announce that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be issuing a regulation that will make available to employers an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023, on top of the 66,000 H-2B visas that are normally available each fiscal year. The H-2B program permits employers to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be of a temporary nature, such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, or intermittent need. Employers seeking H-2B workers must take a series of steps to test the U.S. labor market. They must also certify in their petitions that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to perform the temporary work for which they seek a prospective foreign worker. In addition, employers must certify that employing H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
Congressman Harris issued the following statement:
“This announcement is welcome news for the many businesses across Maryland’s 1st District. The release of these additional visas will help many businesses in my district that rely on seasonal workers for the economic development of their operation. This announcement is also a direct result of the Harris/Pingree Appropriations amendment that allowed the DHS to release more workers based on their discretion. Despite this welcome news, this announcement should serve as a reminder as to why Congress should act quickly on the Returning Workers Exception Act that Rep. Cuellar (D-TX) and I put forward to permanently fix this annual labor problem.”
For media inquiries, please contact Congressman Harris’ Washington, DC office at 202-225-5311, or contact Anna Adamian at Anna.A@mail.house.gov