In response to the national labor shortage, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor have announced that an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas will be made available for the second half of the 2022 fiscal year. Typically, the government issues 33,000 of the visas every six months.
Out of the new visas to be issued, 23,500 have been set aside for returning workers who received an H-2B visa during one of the last three fiscal years; the remaining 11,500 are reserved for Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador nationals. The move will allow employers to hire more workers between April 1 through Sept. 30.
"This is a big win for hoteliers," said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. "These additional visas will provide critical help to seasonal resorts as we enter the busy summer travel season, and they suggest that the Biden administration recognizes the acute workforce shortage we are facing."
Employers who want to hire someone with an H-2B must provide certification from the Department of Labor that proves there are not enough U.S. workers available to do the job and that hiring them will not affect the wages of their other employees.
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