U.S. Senators King (I-ME) and Rounds (R-SD) are circulating a letter to the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Labor asking them to immediately release the 64,716 authorized supplemental visas. The deadline for Senators to sign onto the letter is October 26, 2026. Please reach out to your Senators and ask them to sign the letter.
Our House champions will be circulating a letter shortly as well. We will share those details as soon as they are available.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TODAY
· Please call your two Senators today and ask them to sign the H-2B letter being circulated by Senators King and Rounds. The deadline to sign the letter is October 26. You can reach your Senators through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121. Once connected to your Senator’s office, please ask to speak to the staff person who handles immigration issues.
· Please send an email to your two Senators using the link below, provided by the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
Senators King and Rounds sent the message below to their Senate colleagues asking them to sign the letter:
Senators King and Rounds invite you to cosign this annual bipartisan letter to the Secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) urging, the agencies to allocate the maximum allowable number of supplemental H-2B seasonal employment visas.
Background: Chronic labor shortages—faced historically by seasonal U.S. employers—have evolved into a permanent structural challenge to the American workforce. As this shortage grows, so does the pressure on U.S. employers whose workforce needs cannot be met by American workers alone. The H-2B program requires employers to actively recruit U.S. workers, who are intentionally prioritized by the program and receive demonstrated positive impacts from their seasonal colleagues.
On September 11, 2026, USCIS announced that it had received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B visa cap for the first half of FY 2027. Congress establishes a baseline annual limit of 66,000 H-2B visas, divided equally between the two halves of the fiscal year: 33,000 visas for October 1 to March 31 and 33,000 for April 1–September 30. Unused H-2B numbers from the first half of the fiscal year may roll over into the second half, but unused visas cannot carry over into the following fiscal year.
Supplemental H-2B visas and exemptions for returning workers require separate authorization from Congress each year. Consequently, September 4, 2026, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B petitions requesting employment start dates before April 1, 2027.
Deadline: Monday, October 26 Close of Business Current Cosigners: King, Rounds
Thank you very much for your help to #SaveH2B!
Sincerely,
The H-2B Workforce Coalition
Ashley McNeil, Chair, American Hotel and Lodging Association
Arnulfo Hinojosa, Vice Chair, Federation of Employers and Workers of America
Andrew Bray, Treasurer, National Association of Landscape Professionals
Laurie Flanagan, Secretary, D.C. Legislative and Regulatory Services