H2B suffers another setback

In October, the U.S. Senate and House passed bills that included language to temporarily extend the H2B visa program for “non-skilled” seasonal workers, but this language was effectively stripped from a final congressional version. This means that the current national cap of 66,000 visas will apply until September 2008. It is estimated that approximately 210,000 workers who received H2B visas in 2007 will be seeking the same status in 2008. Grassroots group Save Small Business is urging business owners to contact their congressional representatives and demand emergency legislation to exempt returning workers from the national cap. For more information, visit www.savesmallbusiness.org.