Dept. of Homeland Security authorizes 30,000 additional H-2B visas

The Department of Homeland Security has authorized the issuance of 30,000 additional H-2B visas, a source of labor for many trainers on U.S. backstretches, the department announced on Friday.

The authorization will perhaps ease a shortage of backstretch workers since the current White House administration began cracking down on nearly all forms of immigration to the U.S. two years ago. In each of the previous two years, the department authorized an additional 15,000 visas, but since then, demands for the program from U.S. businesses have only increased due to the tight labor market.

“This will provide relief to horse trainers desperate to hire foreign workers for backstretch positions that U.S. citizens are not filling,” said Alex Waldrop, president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which lobbied for additional visas under the program. “While the number is probably not sufficient to meet the demand, it is decidedly better than the 15,000 additional H-2B visas issued in the last two fiscal years.”

Trainers have been complaining about a shortage of grooms and other backstretch workers for several years due to cuts in the availability of H-2B visas, which allow for “temporary guest workers” from other countries for a six-month period in nonagricultural employment. Industries that benefit from the program include fisheries, hotels, landscapers, and, to a more limited degree, racing.

The current law caps the program at 66,000 visas, split into two six-month periods of 33,000 visas each. According to the DHS, the new authorization will allocate 30,000 additional visas over the remainder of the fiscal year.

The current law allows for the authorization of additional visas after consultations with the Department of Labor and U.S. businesses. Lobbyists representing dozens of industries, including the racing industry, have been lobbying the labor department for allocations well above the cap.

According to an article in the Albany Business Review one week ago, trainer Todd Pletcher had applied for 50 H-2B visas earlier this year, and the request was rejected, the first time the trainer’s request was rejected in 20 years. The same article said that trainer George Weaver’s request for approximately two dozen H-2B visas was rejected.