H-2B Cap Impacts Green Industry

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached its cap for non-agriculture guest worker visas the year, leaving some landscape contractors in a staffing bind.

The national organization received enough H-2B petitions to meet this year’s congressionally mandated cap of 66,000 new workers. After March 9, 2004, USCIS stopped accepting any new H-2B petitions for the fiscal year 2004.

“We have been informed that the quota has been reached,” said Chuck Twist, president, H.O.L.A. Labor Consultants, Stillwater, Okla. “However, our company, as well as a large percentage of other companies that rely on the H-2B visa program for their workers, have not gotten workers yet – and we are now being informed that we will not be able to get our workers this season due to the quota being reached.”

The congressional cap is sure to impact hundreds of companies across the U.S. that rely on the H-2B visa program for our seasonal workers and the economy as a whole, Twist asserted.

Now he and others are short on time to find and train alternate laborers before the busy season begins. Twist also noted the far-reaching impact of the H-2B restriction, stating that the March 9 cap will have a rippling effect.

“This situation not only affects my company and the companies around the nation, it also affects our families, our full-time permanent employees and their families, our workers in Mexico who were promised jobs and their families, our clients who will not have anyone to do their contracted work, our mortgage holders, our vendors, debtors – and the list goes on,” he added.

Twist and other industry professionals intend to call, fax and write letters to local and national representatives concerning the issue.

In the meantime, the USCIS has implemented the following procedure for the remainder of the year:

Petitions for current H-2B workers do not count toward the congressionally mandated H-2B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:

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Click here to send comments electronically to congressional representatives about the H-2B cap.

The author is assistant editor-Internet of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.