President Lifts Several Immigrant, Non Immigrant Travel Restrictions; H-2B Visa Cap Reached

President Joe Biden issued a Proclamation on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2020, to revoke Proclamation 10014 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak) and sections of related Proclamations that added nonimmigrants to the travel suspension. Click here to view President Biden’s Proclamation.

Originally issued on April 20, 2020, by then-President Trump and extended by him in June and December through sections of Proclamations 10052 and 10131, respectively, Proclamation 10014 prevented certain immigrants and nonimmigrants from traveling to the United States. Included in this group were individuals who either were selected to receive the opportunity to apply for visas – including H-2B visas – through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery or who had already received such visas, causing labor challenges for many industries, including the horse racing industry. President Biden’s Proclamation revokes these restrictions.

In other foreign worker developments, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had received enough H-2B worker petitions by February 12 to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B visa cap of 33,000 visas for the 2nd half of fiscal year 2021.

In December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 became law and included a provision that provides the DHS with the discretionary authority to release an additional 64,716 H-2B visas when sufficient need is demonstrated. The NTRA, through its involvement with the H-2B Workforce Coalition, supports efforts to make these additional visas immediately available to seasonal businesses struggling with labor issues.

The H-2B visa guest worker program is a nonimmigrant visa program used by many industries that need temporary non-agricultural help when domestic workers are unavailable. For the horse racing industry, racehorse trainers rely heavily on the H-2B program to fill various backside positions. Demand for H-2B visas often exceeds their availability and the cap level is quickly reached, leaving employers in need.