H-2B Cap Hit! Immediate H-2B Action Needed!

This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the H-2B visa cap for the first half of fiscal 2019 was reached on Dec. 6. Please take action today to urge Congress to fix the cap, even if you have recently done so. 

Requested Actions:

1. Please click on the appropriate link below, set up by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, to send a letter to your Representative and two Senators urging them to support the Tillis/Harris H-2B cap relief package in a final Department of Homeland Security Spending bill. Please also share these links with your colleagues and encourage them to respond.

SEND A LETTER AS AN EMPLOYER

SEND A LETTER AS AN EMPLOYEE

2. Please call your Representative and two Senators and ask them to urge their party leaders to include the Tillis/Harris H-2B package in a final DHS appropriations bill. You can reach your elected officials through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121. Once connected to your Representative or Senator’s office ask to speak to the person who handles H-2B issues. Please make these calls today!

3. Tweet at your Senators and Representative using#SaveH2B.You can find their twitter address at twitter.com/verified/lists/us-congress/members. Some sample tweets are below.

• H-2B Cap Hit! Pass cap relief now! #saveH2B
• Save American jobs. Pass H-2B cap relief now! #saveH2B
• The H-2B program relies on workers who come to the U.S. for seasonal work, then go home. #saveH2B
• Every H-2B worker creates and sustains 4.64 American jobs. Pass H-2B cap relief now! #saveH2B
• #saveH2Band save American Jobs! Pass H-2B cap relief now! 
• H-2B program = more American jobs. Pass H-2B cap relief now. #saveH2B
• H-2B workers support American jobs. Pass H-2B cap relief now! #saveH2B
• Save the spring and summer. Pass H-2B cap relief now! #saveH2B

Background:
Congress is the process of negotiating a final Fiscal 2019 Department of Homeland Security Spending bill. This legislation must be completed by December 21, in order to avoid a government shut down. President Trump and Congressional Democrats continue to fight over funding for a southern border wall and other issues. We are not certain of the final form that a year-end spending package will take or if there will be a short-term government shutdown, but we do know that whatever spending bill materializes from the ongoing negotiations between the President and Congress must include H-2B cap relief. This spending package is the only opportunity for Congress to fix the H-2B cap this year before the bulk H-2B petitions are submitted to the Department of Labor on January 1.

A group of lawmakers, including Senators Tillis (R-NC) and Rounds (R-SD) and Rep. Harris (R-MD), has negotiated an H-2B package that would:

• Permanently double the annual H-2B cap to 132,000 visas and require the Department of Labor to report to Congress every two years about whether or not the cap should be increased or decreased based on economic need;
• Allow some agricultural related industries to access the uncapped H-2A program, including forestry and conservation-related services relating primarily to the cultivation, installation, and establishment of horticultural commodities;
• Provide for proportional and quarterly allocations of H-2B visa so that businesses have access to workers regardless of their dates of need; 
• Preserve access to the program for compliant seasonal employers;
• Provide access to needed temporary workers involved in disaster and recovery efforts;
• Increase fines and penalties for bad actors;
• Require employers who use the program to verify the work eligibility of recently hired and newly hired employees; and 
• Eliminate the costly newspaper advertising requirement and replace it with a requirement to list jobs through an online Department of Labor job registry.

Thanks for all of your help to #saveH2B.