An annual cap of 66,000 such visas, 33,000 for summer and an equal number for winter, was initially set by congress in 1990. In 2005, under the Save Our Small and Seasonal Business Act, Congress exempted these returning workers from the 1990 legislation.
That exemption expired on Sept. 30, 2007 and has yet to be renewed. Under current law, the summer cap was reached in January. Without an extension of the returning worker exemption, many seasonal employers claim they will not be able to hire H-2B visa holders until the beginning of the next fiscal year on this Oct. 1 –too late to meet their employee requirements for the season ahead.
In fiscal 2007, an estimated 250,000 employees participated in the H-2B program. They worked at restaurants, resorts, hotels and other seasonal businesses, such as nurseries and landscaping and food processing companies.
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