McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) – The Biden administration on Friday announced that it is adding 64,716 temporary, non-agricultural work visas for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025.
The Department of Homeland Security made the announcement in conjunction with the Department of Labor at a time when many worry that there won’t be enough workers to fill American jobs if mass deportations of migrants are carried out, which President-Elect Donald Trump has promised.
These supplemental worker visas are in addition to the 66,000 H-2B visas available this fiscal year, as mandated by Congress.
The total of over 130,700 worker visas issued this fiscal year is the maximum permitted by Congress and match the number of visas approved in Fiscal 2024.
“By maximizing the use of the H-2B visa program, the Department of Homeland Security is helping to ensure the labor needs of American businesses are met, keeping prices down for consumers while strengthening worker protections and deterring irregular migration to the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “The Department of Homeland Security is committed to further growing our nation’s strong economy.”
The tranche of new visas include 20,000 worker visas to go to foreign nationals from: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. The remaining 44,716 supplemental visas will be available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years, DHS said. The regulation would allocate the supplemental visas for returning workers between the first half and second half of the fiscal year to account for the need for additional seasonal and other temporary workers over the course of the year, with a portion of the second half allocation reserved to meet the demand for workers during the peak summer season.
The visas are expected to go to workers in hospitality, tourism, landscaping, seafood processing, as well as seasonal and other temporary workers.
DHS officials said the additional visas will help address the need for seasonal and temporary workers in areas where too few U.S. workers are available, willing and qualified to do the temporary work and address the labor needs of American businesses.
During a call with media on Thursday, business leaders said they hoped the Biden administration will increase worker visas during this remain time in office as a way to expand the U.S. workforce.
“We need more immigrant workers filling these roles,” Adam Lampert, who runs a Dallas-based healthcare organization said.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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