Extending Guest Labor
29 Mar, 2007 By: Landscape Management Staff LDB Solutions
This week, senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) and John Warner (R-VA) reintroduced their bill to provide a five-year extension to a provision of the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act that protects small and seasonal businesses from a cut to their workforce.
The Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act, signed into law by President Bush in May 2005, made significant changes to the federal H2B (non-skilled seasonal worker) visa program. Among the changes, it exempted returning seasonal workers from counting against the national cap of 66,000 people, created new anti-fraud provisions, and ensured a fair allocation of H2B visas among spring and summer employees.
A one-year extension on the visa cap allowed workers who entered the U.S. with an H-2B visa in 2004, 2005 and 2006 to return under an H-2B visa and not count against the 66,000 visas per-year cap. The extension expires on September 30, 2007. The bill being reintroduced by Senators Mikulski and Warner would add five years to the extension.
“This extension protects workers, and gives us another congressional session to keep up the fight until we make this cap exemption permanent,” Senator Mikulski says.
Tom Delaney, PLANET’s director of Government Affairs is available to answer questions about the bill at tomdelaney@landcarenetwork.org; (770) 925-7113 or (800) 395-2522. You can also contact your representatives through PLANET's site.
Related articles:
- Sen. Mikulski renews commitment to H-2B Visa fight at Fly-In, Jan. 24, 2007
- Legislative Champion Award Goes to Borst, Nov. 29, 2006
- It's official: 1-year H-2B reprieve signed into law, Oct. 17, 2006
Please send any technical comments or questions to our webmaster.