Shortage of H-2Bs at Cape Cod

Date: Sunday, March 14, 2004 2:04 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

For many college students summer used to be an opportunity to earn
money by working in the resort industry. They took jobs such as
lifesavers, hotel cleaners, tour guides, busboys, dishwashers, fry
cooks etc. Opportunities for American students shrank as resorts began
to use foreigners on H-2B visas from other countries. The vacation
industry prefers H-2B visa holders but also hires foreign students on
J-1 visas for temporary help (the H-2Bs are typically full-time
permanent positions). Employers prefer H-2B and J-1 workers over
American students because the foreign workers are willing to live
on-site in an arrangement similar to labor camps. Unlike American
students who want more freedom during their summer off from school, the
foreigners are willing to work long hours for minimum salary.

Cape Cod employers are complaining that they can't hire more H-2Bs
because the yearly cap of 66,000 has been reached. They further their
complaints by claiming that there aren't enough J-1 visa holders to
make up the difference. Now the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is
entering the fray by contacting politicians and lobbying for an
increase in the yearly cap of H-2Bs so that resorts can continue to
enjoy cheap, loyal, and docile laborers.

If this story sounds familiar to you, it's probably because the same
arguments are being aired about H-1B visas.

Cape Cod resorts claim that if fail to get an increase in the H-2B cap
they will be scrambling to find enough workers to man their hotels and
restaurants. That could leave local businesses with the option they
loathe: find out-of-work American workers to fill the slots.

That could leave local businesses with only one option
for the coming summer: find out-of-work American workers
to fill the slots.

("American workers" in this case used to mean American students.
Traditionally these jobs didn't pay enough to interest adults. Students
enjoyed working at the vacation spots so they accepted substandard
salaries.)

http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/reignworker11.htm

Foreign worker quota filled

By ETHAN ZINDLER
STAFF WRITER

Many seasonal employers on the Cape and islands could be left without
help after action by the federal government that effectively stopped
the flow of temporary foreign workers into the United States.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it has stopped
processing requests from U.S. employers seeking to import foreign
workers for certain unskilled jobs.

The move could have serious implications for Cape and islands
businesses, which in summer rely on the H-2b visa program to fill 5,000
to 6,000 service-sector jobs with temporary labor from abroad.

In a press release e-mailed late yesterday, USCIS announced it had
fulfilled its quota of 66,000 H-2b petitions from employers for the
current fiscal year. The agency says it will process all petitions it
had received by end of business Tuesday, but would accept no more.

All applications received since Tuesday will be returned, along with
any related fees.

Matthew Lee, a partner in Merson and Lee, a Centerville law firm
specializing in immigration, said he expects that only about 30 percent
of applications from employers in the region will be processed this
year.

Businesses in bind

The action could leave businesses scrambling to fill more than 3,000
busboy, dishwasher, fry cook and other such positions. Typically, many
such jobs go to workers from eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, the
Caribbean and South America.
Lee's firm helps local businesses navigate the visa process and import
200 workers a year, on average.

As a result of the USCIS pronouncement, eight of Lee's clients will be
left out in the cold, short 50 workers, he said.

"I don't know what the hell they're going to do," he said.

Wendy Northcross, executive director of the Cape Cod Chamber of
Commerce, got word earlier this week that the USCIS would reach the
congressionally mandated cap on H-2b workers tomorrow. She e-mailed
Chamber members yesterday, urging them to submit their paperwork to
USCIS as soon as possible via overnight mail.

Northcross said she had spoken with staff from Rep. William Delahunt's
office this week about what she called the "cap gap" between the number
of petitions the USCIS receives and the number of workers it actually
allows into the country.

"There may be 10, there may be 1,500 or 10,000 people" who don't
ultimately arrive on U.S. shores, despite getting their visas approved,
she said.

Northcross said she planned to work through the Travel Industry
Association of America to rally support for more H-2bs.

But Northcross said she was not optimistic that Congress will act in a
year when outsourcing of American jobs has become a hot-button
presidential-campaign topic.

Lee said he also had contacted Delahunt's office and said he hoped
Congress would pass an emergency extension on the number of H-2bs
accepted for 2004.

A spokesman for Delahunt could not be reached for comment late
yesterday evening. A USCIS spokesman did not return a call seeking
comment.

The H-2b program allows employers to bring in seasonal workers if the
job is first advertised to Americans at prevailing wage, but has no
takers.

Employers who want to import workers on H-2bs must first apply to the
Massachusetts Division of Career Services, then the U.S. Department of
Labor, then U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the
Department of Homeland Security. That process can take from four to
five months.

In fiscal year 2003, 700 Cape and islands employers filed petitions
with the state to fill 5,000 jobs with H-2b workers. As of last week,
646 employers had filed for 5,294 jobs for this fiscal year. The
state's fiscal year ends June 30.

Feds' warning
The cap has been in place since 1991. Last week, federal officials
warned this year could be the first time it is met and enforced.
The USCIS will continue to process petitions to extend the stay of
current H-2b workers in the U.S. or change the terms of employment for
a current H-2b. The agency will also allow current H-2b workers to
change or add employers.

Employers generally rely on H-2b-designated workers and those imported
under the USCIS J-1 student visa program. But Lee said the J-1 program
has been severely cut back as well.

That could leave local businesses with only one option for the coming
summer: find out-of-work American workers to fill the slots.

(Published: March 11, 2004)

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