Congress could double number of H2-B temporary visas, extend time limit

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Congress could double number of H2-B temporary visas, extend time limit

By David Berlin
April 12, 2006
San Diego Union Tribune

At 6 in the morning on a cold and rainy April day, 31 immigrants quietly walked across the U.S. border at Otay Mesa, ending a 12-hour bus ride from Hermosillo, Mexico.

As they trickled across the border a few at a time, attorney Kevin M. Tracy of North County Legalization Services and two of his colleagues greeted the men with water and food. After applying for Social Security numbers and driver's licenses in San Marcos, the migrants would find jobs waiting for them at landscape companies throughout California. They are part of a little-known temporary visa program that enables U.S. companies to hire foreigners for up to 11 months at a time, as long as the employer has first tried to hire Americans.

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The program, known as H2-B, has proven so popular with employers that there is a move in Congress to more than double the number of visas given out each year and extend the time limit from 11 months to up to six years.

But, amid the fierce ongoing debate over immigration policies, critics of H2-B and other guest-worker programs argue that they mainly drive down wages by giving companies access to a cheap labor pool. Traditionally, H2-B visas were used by employers in colder parts of the country who needed seasonal workers. They've also been used by professional baseball players and foreign musicians on concert tours. But West Coast employers have started using the program to reduce the risk of legal problems.

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Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland wants to more than double the current 66,000 H2-B visas given out every year. The crab industry in Maryland depends on the visas for a “peak-load” seasonal crab harvest. Mikulski has said without an expansion of the H2-B program, employers will face a continuing labor shortage crisis. Another law being considered would extend the stay of guest workers to as many as six years. But there is considerable opposition. One point of contention is whether there is actually a need for foreign workers, regardless of whether companies say they have trouble hiring Americans. Additionally, critics argue that the government ends up subsidizing the workers through social programs.

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