Biden administration strikes deal to offer 22,000 extra seasonal guestworker visas: Bloomberg Law

[April 20, 2021]    (Reuters) - Two Biden administration agencies have struck a deal to offer 22,000 extra seasonal guestworker visas to employers in the coming months, Bloomberg Law reported on Monday.

International passengers arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport after the U.S. Supreme Court granted parts of the Trump administration's emergency request to put its travel ban into effect later in the week pending further judicial review, in Dulles, Virginia, U.S., June 26, 2017. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan/

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh agreed late last week to lift the cap on H-2B visas, the report https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/biden-agencies-pact-boosts-seasonal-visas-in-blow-to-unions said, citing two sources familiar with the process.

The extra visas for seasonal non-agricultural labor, called the H-2B visas, are in addition to the annual allotment of 66,000 H-2B visas.

Earlier in April, President Joe Biden allowed a proclamation from his Republican predecessor that had blocked many temporary foreign workers from coming into the United States to expire.

The Democratic president has rolled back some of former President Donald Trump's immigration policies since taking office on Jan. 20, including last month revoking a proclamation that had blocked many immigrant visa applicants from entering the United States.

(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.