BERLIN — With uncertainties already surrounding the availability of a seasonal workforce for some key industries locally and across the Eastern Shore, Congressman Andy Harris (R-Md.) is imploring the federal government to release more H-2B visas.
The H-2B guest worker program provides access to seasonal temporary labor to businesses in certain non-agricultural seasonal roles. Unlike the J-1 visas, the workers are generally not students and there is not a work and travel component connected to the H-2B visas. The H-2B visa workers are seasonal and are relied upon heavily by the tourism, hospitality, landscaping, seafood and construction industries, for example.
There are 66,000 H-2B visas made available each year, allocated in half for the summer season and half for the winter season. However, because of acute labor shortages in certain sectors of the economy, the Department of Homeland Security earlier this made an additional 22,000 H-2B visas available for the remainder of the federal fiscal year.
Harris, who co-authored a bipartisan amendment along with Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Me.) seeking the release of more H-2B visas, said the DHS secondary allocation is falling woefully short. Harris said the yearly cap is inadequate and the lottery system for allocating the visas is unfair in many cases.
He pointed out the number of guest worker visas applied for stands at 136,000, with only 33,000 still available. Harris said shortfall could be particularly hard on certain seasonal industries across his district on the Eastern Shore, including crab picking and processing plants.
While I agree that there is a need for seasonal foreign workers….
There is a need to employ local citizens first. Reduce welfare for those that are able-bodied. Give the ‘new’ employees and employers a tax break for getting people back to work!
I agree. Locals do not want to work and would rather live off the government. I remember long ago you had to go to the unemployment office and turn in your job contacts and file for unemployment.
So to do what is only logical (employ Americans first) we must GIVE them a break?
Why the need for incentives to go to work?
Fix the problem instead of kicking the can down the road.
Incentives? Thats MY tax dollars to what….make someone FEEL better about themselves?
Bullchip!
So the Republicans what to bring immigrants into the county. Wonder how many stay when the visa expires.
And you blame Biden
Have never been in favor of this. Just doesn’t make any sense to me when you have high unemployment and you can’t get anyone to work. Just doesn’t add up. Unemployment benefits should be taken away from those that refuse to go to work. Harris is trying to please a few seafood workers and farmers but he is way out of line on this. Most people don’t want more H2-b’s.
How many locals are actually going to work picking crabs? This used to be good summer work. Not anymore. Same with working in OC. Students now are taking internships instead of summer jobs.