WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Weeks after the Department of Homeland Security approved 35,000 supplemental H2-B visas and they were approved to begin, Rep. Andy Harris is calling for their immediate release.
The visas--commonly used in the Eastern Shore seafood industry-- were planned to be available for work start dates as early as April 1st.
"While I was pleased with the Department of Homeland Security's announcement on the imminent release of 35,000 supplemental H-2b visas for the summer work season (although more work remains), I am disappointed that nearly a month later they have yet to make these visas available," Harris says in a statement. "I have repeatedly stressed to both the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor that time is of the essence with respect to the release of these supplemental visas. Each day of bureaucratic delay is another day of cancelled contracts, lost income, and lost jobs for our seasonal employers on the Eastern Shore and throughout the country.
Congressman Harris says he personally met with Labor Secretary Walsh on March 3rd, asking him for the visas to begin as soon as possible.
"The busy summer season is upon us, and businesses are desperate for the labor necessary to meet consumer demand," the statement reads. "I urge the Departments to recognize the damage, in some cases irreversible, that seasonal businesses sustain as they await access to their seasonal labor force and to do everything in their power to make these supplemental H-2B visas available to our seasonal employers without delay."
Additionally, Congressman Harris is an original co-sponsor of H.R. 3897, the H-2B Returning Worker Exemption Act. Harris' team says this legislation is a permanent solution to the chronic H-2B visa issues that plague seasonal businesses such as the iconic crab houses of Maryland's Eastern Shore.
The bill would exempt workers who previously held an H-2B visa in one of the last three fiscal years from counting against the annual 66,000 statutory cap.