| Many business owners employ legal foreign workers | | | | Many firms bring legal immigrants to the United |
| for their seasonal or intermittent job openings. These | | | | States on H-2B visas and they are now denied the |
| people, whom their employers describe as serious | | | | possibility to rely on seasonal workers by the US |
| and very skilled, and who have been working with | | | | Department of Labor. The H-2B visa has been |
| them for many year, now find it hard to do the | | | | created to come to the aid of those employers that |
| same thing because of the complicated process of | | | | have intermittent or seasonal needs and who need |
| obtaining an H-2B visa. This is to the detriment of | | | | to hire temporary workers in order to increase their |
| both employer and employee, having the greatest | | | | labor force. Such employers include owners of |
| impact or the former rather than on the latter, as | | | | restaurants, resorts, landscaping companies, or |
| many businesses, such as resorts or hospital cannot | | | | property management firms. Panic has been created |
| function without these legal immigrants. | | | | among most business owners, as the US Department |
| One of the recent immigration proposals drawn up by | | | | of Labor has denied the H-2B visas for seasonal |
| the White House refers to allowing illegal immigrants | | | | workers. Their only hope is that their petitions to the |
| to obtain the three-year Z-visa and giving them the | | | | US Citizenship and Immigration Services be approved. |
| possibility to continue their work after having paid | | | | Even so, it would take longer than the usual for |
| fines in the total amount of $ 3,500, as well as the | | | | foreign workers to arrive in the United States, and in |
| same amount of money for each renewal. Moreover, | | | | the mean time employers would be left without the |
| after these illegal immigrants have passed background | | | | people who make their business run. |
| checks and have been awarded the Z-visas, they | | | | Most business owners who are in need of seasonal |
| should be given the possibility to become legal | | | | workers agree that the H-2B visa is a wonderful |
| residents and therefore eligible for citizenship, but | | | | program, as it fills jobs that can't normally be filled in |
| only upon payment of up to $ 10,000 in penalties. | | | | the areas where the labor pool is missing. Employers |
| However, the White House proposals doesn't allow | | | | who want to hire foreign workers must obtain a |
| temporary workers or Z-visa holders to bring their | | | | temporary labor certification from the State |
| families to the US. This proposal also came up with a | | | | Workforce Agency in their area. All business owners |
| new guest program for temporary workers, which | | | | must proceed carefully and start this process early, |
| represented to way to citizenship in itself, for all illegal | | | | as petitions should be evaluated at the State |
| immigrants. | | | | Workforce Agency in no more than thirty days, but |
| The United States Senate passed a bill in 2006, which | | | | it known that the actual evaluation can take even |
| is pretty much similar to the White House proposal, | | | | three times longer. Furthermore, upon completion of |
| but it differs in that illegal immigrants had to fulfill two | | | | the evaluation, petitions are forwarded to US |
| very important conditions in order to become | | | | Department of Labor, which should communicate an |
| permanent residents and eventually citizens. These | | | | answer to the petitioners within forty-five days, but |
| were the period of time they had to have spent | | | | they are also known to have taken a whole lot |
| working in the United States, which was of at least | | | | longer, claiming that the number of petitions for |
| five years, and the obligation to learn English. The | | | | foreign seasonal workers has increased substantially. |
| Senate bill demanded that those illegal immigrants | | | | The good part is that most petitions that have been |
| who had been in the country for less than two years | | | | initially denied are approved when the petitioners |
| should leave. The same bill required immigrants who | | | | appeal. However, this takes a lot of time and affects |
| had been in the country for more than two years, | | | | the beginning of the season, so all business owners |
| but less than five, to file an application of return at | | | | should start processing early. |
| an entry point at the border. | | | | |