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On June 13 and 14, nearly 130 landscape professionals from at least 25 states gathered at the nation’s capital to meet with their representatives to lobby for the permanent worker exclusion for the H-2B program. “I think if landscape professionals want to change policy and impact policy, they have to be able to show up […]
On June 8, 80 landscape professionals from 18 different states headed to Capitol Hill to carry the H-2B reform message and share their stories. This fly-in was hosted by NALP in collaboration with Seasonal Employment Alliance, the Federation of Employers and Workers of America and AmericanHort to push for H-2B reform this summer as there […]
On Monday, December 20, the Department of Homeland Security announced that they will be releasing an additional 20,000 H-2B visas for the first half of the fiscal year, which begins October 1 and ends March 30. Of the 20,000 visas, 6,500 will be carved out for Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) and also […]
Last night, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor reached a deal to release 22,000 supplemental H-2B visas. These additional visas are a result of the discretionary authority granted to DHS by Congress in the FY 21 Appropriations. The official rule has not been published and many details remain unknown with regards to the […]
With the continuing challenges brought by the H-2B guest worker program and long-term systemic changes needed in the operation of the visa program, NALP has created an advisory committee to oversee the association’s strategic leadership of this policy priority. The leadership team includes: Tim Portland, Chair (Yellowstone) Bob Grover (Pacific Landscape Management) Shayne Newman (Yard […]
As previously announced, USCIS began accepting H-2B petitions on May 31, 2018, under the temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit, or cap, on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 15,000 additional visas through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2018. In the first five business days of filing, USCIS received petitions for more beneficiaries than […]
Last week, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Nielsen finally announced plans to authorize additional H-2B visas. The announcement confirms what NALP and our members have been telling our nation’s lawmakers – there are not sufficient, qualified, U.S. workers available to fill the workforce needs of America’s professional landscaping companies and other seasonal businesses.
So far, we have not heard anything official from DHS about the release of additional visas. However, in the last couple of days we have heard rumors and seen press reports that indicate that DHS plans to release 15,000 additional visas around the middle of this month.
Congressional hearings last week offered the first opportunity for members of Congress to seek answers regarding how quickly the administration is likely to act on their authority to authorize additional H-2B visas. Both the Senate and House held Appropriation Subcommittee meetings that featured testimony from the two Secretaries with jurisdictional oversight of the H-2B program. […]
Last week, President Trump signed into law the 2018 Omnibus budget bill. Included in that measure was language that COULD provide substantive cap-relief for this year. We say could because the language agreed to by Congress is the same language that they settled upon last year; the cap-relief language grants discretion to the Secretary of […]