Pappas Demands DHS Reconsider Proposed Fee Hikes for Small Businesses

Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), a small business owner and member of the House Small Business Committee, alongside Congressman Mike Simpson (ID-02) and Congressman David Valadao (CA-22), led 49 of their colleagues in demanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reconsider a proposed rule that would detrimentally increase the fees charged to small and seasonal businesses who rely upon the H2B program to hire workers and increase the processing times for these visas.

The lawmakers wrote, “Employers who rely on the H-2B and H-2A non-immigrant visa programs do so because they cannot hire U.S. workers to fill the needed positions. They turn to these programs to ensure they have the workforce needed to operate their business and contribute to our communities. These programs are a last resort to going out of business or curtailing expansion.”

The Department of Homeland Security recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining increased fees for H-2B and H-2A non-immigrant visa programs, and instituting a $600 Asylum Program Fee on every petition. In addition, the proposal would increase premium processing time from 15 calendar days to 15 business days.

The lawmakers shared concerns about how this would harm small and seasonal businesses, writing, “The federal government should do whatever it can to support small and seasonal U.S. businesses. The proposed rule changes are unacceptable in their current state as they only bring additional expenses without providing any additional support.”

Additionally, they demanded that the agency properly consider the impact on small businesses, concluding, “We would support USCIS restarting its entire rule making process if it were necessary to ensure that the final rule does not include the fee increases to H2-B and H-2A visa programs.”

The full letter can be read here and below:

Dear Secretary Mayorkas and Director Jaddou,

We are deeply concerned with the recently published Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to increase application fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) for employment-based visas and institute a $600 Asylum Program Fee on every petition. We understand USCIS is primarily funded through user fees and must occasionally review those fees to determine if they are still sufficient to cover the cost of processing petitions. However, at a time with record low unemployment, small U.S. employers using the H-2B and H-2A non-immigrant visa programs will be adversely impacted by these proposed fee increases.

Employers who rely on the H-2B and H-2A non-immigrant visa programs do so because they cannot hire U.S. workers to fill the needed positions. They turn to these programs to ensure they have the workforce needed to operate their business and contribute to our communities. These programs are a last resort to going out of business or curtailing expansion. Placing the burden of paying for the Asylum Program on employers trying to hire a legal workforce is unconscionable.

Additionally, the proposal to change premium processing from 15-calendar days to 15-business days is concerning as visa processing delays already cause uncertainty for employers who are trying to maintain their workforce. This proposed change is only exacerbated by the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) lack of ability to process H-2B and H-2A applications in a timely manner in the second half of the fiscal year. Even adding four days to the premium processing timing, after waiting months for DOL to issue a labor certification, will be detrimental to small and seasonal businesses that participate in the H-2B and H-2A programs. This is exacerbated by the fact that visas for small and seasonal H-2B and H-2A business are only valid less than a year.

The proposed rule asserts these shifts are the result of an ability-to-pay model, but in reality, these changes would burden small and seasonal U.S. businesses, not multinational billion-dollar corporations who utilize other visa categories such as the H-1B and L visas. Instead, the agency is planning to make farmers, landscapers, and small family businesses pay for the cost of the Asylum Program. The proposed fee increases, in addition to the Asylum Program Fee, is too much for small and seasonal U.S. businesses.

The federal government should do whatever it can to support small and seasonal U.S. businesses. The proposed rule changes are unacceptable in their current state as they only bring additional expenses without providing any additional support. We demand that you properly take into consideration the detrimental effects these fee increases will have on small and seasonal businesses as you adjust the final rule. We would support USCIS restarting its entire rule making process if it were necessary to ensure that the final rule does not include the fee increases to H2-B and H-2A visa programs. Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to seeing these suggested changes implemented in a final rule.

Sincerely, 

Background: 

Pappas has been a consistent advocate for reforming the H2-B visa program to better meet the needs of New Hampshire’s seasonal businesses. He has met with small businesses frequently to hear directly from them about the need to make additional H-2B visas available and additional reforms that would bolster their workforce.

In addition to increasing the number of H-2B visas available, Pappas has also repeatedly urged the Administration to exempt returning H-2B workers from counting against the cap. The returning worker exemption expired in September 2016, but Congress at the time failed to reauthorize it.

During the 117th Congress, Pappas cosponsored the H-2B Returning Worker Exception Act, which would reform the H-2B program. This legislation is supported by the US Chamber of Commerce.