Maine U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are happy with the announcement that the number of visas for foreign temporary workers will nearly double next year.
The two released a joint statement Monday, praising the increase of nearly 65,000 additional H-2B visas for workers, with many of them coming from central and south America.
“The release of over 64,000 additional H-2B visas is a welcome relief for small businesses throughout Maine that continue to face a shortage of employees,” said Senators Collins and King. “These visas are a lifeline for our state’s economy, helping businesses meet the increasing demand for their products and services, especially as we enter the winter tourism season.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Secretary Julie Su are expected to make an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year 2025, on top of the congressionally mandated 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year.
King says the additional workers will be especially helpful in Maine during the busy summer tourist season. although he’s expressed concern that the incoming Trump administration could reverse the visa increase. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly said there will be a mass deportation of undocumented workers once he takes office, and it’s not clear what his administration’s disposition will be toward the increase in temporary workers.
The Fiscal Year 2025 H-2B supplemental allocation is expected to include 20,000 visas for workers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras.
In addition, 44,716 supplemental visas would be available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years.
