Rep. Cuellar speaks at the House Appropriations Committee markup for the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2017 on June 22 in favor of an amendment to help small businesses who seek seasonal workers. Click here to view video.

The H-2B visa guest worker program, which is capped annually at a rate of 66,000, is used primarily by American small businesses to hire foreign workers for temporary and seasonal work in the United States in industries such as landscaping, independent hotels and resorts, forestry and others which can’t fill the jobs with American workers.

Contrary to popular belief, guest workers pay all applicable taxes, including Social Security and Medicare, yet they do not collect any of these benefits since their visas are strictly for temporary seasonal work in the United States.

Some American employers depend on the H-2B visa program to fill their seasonal employment needs as they are unable to find enough Americans to fill the positions. Despite extensive recruitment efforts to hire American workers, and hourly wages that often pay above minimum wage, the demand for seasonal workers often isn’t met by local labor pools.

By law, every job must be properly advertised in the community where employers seek laborers, and American workers are guaranteed first chance at every job. When there are not enough American workers to fill demand, those jobs are later filled by H-2B temporary workers. Even then, demand for workers is even greater than what is allowed by the current 66,000 visa cap.

To address this issue, Congressman Cuellar and Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD-1) co-sponsored an amendment that would allow workers who were in the United States on H-2B visas in the years 2014, 2015 or 2016 the opportunity to stay without being counted towards the 66,000 H-2B visa cap for fiscal year 2017.

“Many small businesses in my congressional district and all across the country depend on H-2B visa guest workers to supply needed services,” Congressman Cuellar said. “H-2B temporary guest workers are vital to the nation’s economy and growth of my district and Texas. These seasonal jobs cannot be filled by American workers, which makes guest worker programs a smart and safe investment not only for small businesses and Americans who enjoy products and services, but the guest workers themselves who enjoy competitive wages, guaranteed work and protection in the form of oversight from federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Labor. I thank Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD-1) for his help in securing this language.”