Although the chances of H-2B cap extension bills passing in Congress before the provision’s Sept. 30 deadline are slim, those who use the program should continue to apply for workers.
The guest-worker program carries a cap of 33,000 workers each half of the fiscal year. The amendment that exempts returning workers from counting against the cap expires Sept. 30 The Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act would extend the amendment, but there are no signs that it will pass before the deadline.
To throw in another wrench, labor union members are proposing an amendment to the extension of the returning-worker exemption. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) plans to introduce legislation that includes expanding the recruitment process, requiring H-2B workers to be paid more than the prevailing wage and allowing the Legal Services Corporation to represent guest workers in litigation against employers.
Such requirements could be burdensome to H-2B users, guest worker advocates say.
So far, 28 senators and 80 House members have signed on as supporters of the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act (S.988, H.R.1843). Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who introduced the Senate version.
“I will continue doing everything I can to make sure small businesses do not suffer without this exemption,” Mikulski says. “I will use every option available to move this as a stand-alone bill or to attach it to another piece of legislation.”
There is still hope that a cap exemption bill will be passed, even if it’s after the deadline, Delaney says. If that happens, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services department can retroactively apply exemptions to returning workers who were signed up before the bill was passed. Because of this, advocates recommend that H-2B users submit their applications as they normally would.
At the same time, H-2B users are urged to continue talking to their representatives about passing the bill.
