ANLA Statement Regarding H-2B Cap for 2nd Half of Fiscal Year 2007. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 33,000 H-2B visa cap for the final six months of Fiscal Year 2007. According to the USCIS, the final receipt date for H-2B applications was March 16th. Any applications received after that will be returned.
"Reaching the semi-annual cap of 33,000 before the 2nd half fiscal year start date begins on April 1st underscores our need to for a meaningful lasting fix to the H-2B cap," said John Farner, ANLA’s director of legislative relations. "If Congress does not address comprehensive immigration reform, enforcement will continue and more and more employers will need to use the H-2B program as the only seasonal labor safety net. Our seasonal industry depends on this program and we cannot afford for the system to be stretched any thinner."
Earlier last year, Congress enacted legislation allowing "returning workers" to be exempt from H-2B cap limitations. In order to qualify as a "return worker," the worker must have counted against the H-2B numerical cap between October 1, 2003 and September 30, 2006. The USCIS has stated that the "return worker" petitions will continue to be reviewed as these visas do not count against the cap.
"We are hoping that Congress addresses the problems we are encountering in the H-2B system this year," continued Farner. "The unwarranted denials, delays and arbitrarily low cap are fundamentally hindering our industry’s ability to use this program."
To find out more information regarding the USCIS decision, please visit www.anla.org to view the full USCIS Press Release.
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