DHS Ruling Offers Potential Relief to Industry Employers

Trainers who utilize the H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker program to bring in help from foreign countries received positive news Monday, as the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor issued a final ruling that allows businesses to hire up to 15,000 additional H-2B workers. The ruling stipulates that, in order to qualify for additional visas, applicants must prove that their business is likely to suffer irreparable harm if it cannot employ H-2B non-immigrant workers. Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, said that Monday's action represents a step in the right direction towards restoring stability for many stables.

“This is an H-2B expansion that covers a wide variety of industries,” Hamelback said. “The racing side of the Thoroughbred industry is obviously affected. We have a tremendous number of trainers who utilize these H-2Bs, so it is a big benefit to have this expansion because we've overflowed the cap, basically.”

While applicant spots must be shared with other members of the H-2B coalition, the cap increase provides a measured boost to the Thoroughbred industy. Hamelback emphasized that Monday's H-2B cap increase is separate from the issue of whether Congress will reinstate the H-2B returning worker exemption, which would allow workers who have previously qualified for an H-2B visa to return without counting against the federal cap.

“At this point, we don't have an answer, but this is just affecting the cap,” Hamelback said of the distinction. “It would be considered minimal relief, but it is relief. The negative effects will be that it may be a little too late for some businesses–and I say that with an understanding that not just the racing world is affected by this. But ultimately…this grants the possibility moving forward for the rest of the year that we can get those applicant spots filled.”

Congress previously set the H-2B cap at 66,000, and after that threshold was reached by Mar. 13 for the 2017 year, Congress delegated authority to John Kelly, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, to increase the number of temporary work visas through Sept. 30.

“Congress gave me the opportunity to provide temporary relief to American businesses in danger of suffering irreparable harm due to a lack of available temporary workers,” Kelly said in a Monday press release. “As a demonstration of the Administration's commitment to supporting American businesses, DHS is providing this one-time increase to the congressionally set annual cap.”

Beyond the temporary relief, Hamelback added that the reinstatement of the returning worker exemption would likely provide a long-term solution to the potential pitfalls facing trainers who employ H-2B workers. The H.R. 2004 bill, which was introduced in the House of Representatives in April, would exclude returning workers from being counted toward the yearly cap.

“It would be great, for the long-term benefit, to get an independent piece of legislation that can affect the H-2B visas such that it is not constantly an amendment to the appropriations budget bill,” Hamelback said. “But in the short term, any relief we can get on the return worker exemption in addition to either raising the cap [further] or funding the return worker exemption would be beneficial to everyone within the H-2B coalition.”