On December 21, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the 33,000 cap for the first half of fiscal year 2018 was reached on December 15. This means that, with extremely limited exceptions, seasonal businesses that petitioned USCIS for workers with a start date after December 15 and before April 1, will not get their H-2B workers. The announcement comes almost a month earlier than the first-half cap was reached last year. The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) expects that many companies could also be shut out of the second-half cap, which begins on April 1.
The NALP and its H-2B Workforce Coalition partners will continue to stress the urgent need for 2018 H-2B cap relief to members of Congress. With the news that fully half of the available visas are already gone, they have an additional argument to support their cause. The association is also in constant dialog about the importance of H-2B program reform that provides permanent cap relief. Reform of this type would require legislation to be signed into law, and unfortunately, some members of Congress fail to recognize the important role that guest workers serve in providing a legal and dependable workforce for seasonal employers.
The NALP urges its members to remain vigilant and keep a steady stream of contact to their members of Congress until cap relief succeeds. V
For more information, please visit the NALP Member Advocacy Center and help send a message calling for cap relief to Capitol Hill!
