Visas Snapped Up; Employers Scramble for Summer Workers
By Karen Gould

In early January, the cap was reached on the number of H2B visas that will be issued to temporary workers coming to the U.S. from Mexico, Jamaica, and other countries. The early cutoff has left area businesses scrambling to find workers for the upcoming tourist season. Some Straits area employers are turning to back-up plans, while holding out hope Congress will pass legislation that has been left to languish in committee as the national debate continues over immigration reform.

Local businesses, which are required to demonstrate the need for the employees, have been using the H2B visa program for years to legally hire temporary seasonal workers when American workers were not available.

Businesses here began feeling the employee crunch when the summer season was extended beyond the summer breaks of high school and college students, the workers who used to fill summer employment needs.

By law, businesses are not allowed to apply for workers sooner than 120 days before they are needed. The fact that the tourism season starts late in the Straits region has left many businesses unable to apply for the H2B visa workers before the quota is filled by other employers around the country.

Reaching the cap January 2, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the next day it had stopped accepting petitions for workers seeking employment with start dates before October 1.

For most local businesses, the cap was reached too early.

"I would say the majority of business here on the Island and the Straits area were not able to apply before the cap was met," said Anneke Myers, human resources director for the Village Inn Restaurants, the Balsam Shops, and Pontiac Lodge. "Most of Mackinac Island was completely shut out because of our season."

The problem for local employers began September 30, 2007, with the expiration of a special amendment that was added to 2005 federal legislation, "Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act." The clause exempted returning seasonal workers from the national cap of 66,000 available visas. The legislation was vigorously pursued by local business owners and legislators to allow workers to continue to get permits to return to jobs here, before their work visas were snapped up by workers going to resorts and other businesses in other states.

Now, all returning workers are placed in the same allotment pool. The lack of an exemption clause for returning visa workers impacts summer seasonal businesses across the country.

On January 2, the first day applications could be received, the USCIS received more than 53,000 visa petitions, while only 33,000 workers ultimately will gain approval to enter the country in the second half of the fiscal year. The federal agency plans to use a computergenerated random selection process to select the 33,000 petitions from those received January 2.

Nationwide, 66,000 H2B visas can be issued each fiscal year. Half, or 33,000 visas, are issued in the fall and the remaining 33,000 are issued in the spring.

Last year, approximately 126,000 H2B visas were issued, said Mrs. Myers, and of those, 60,000 visas were for returning workers, who last year were exempt from the cap.

"So half the workforce that got in the year before," she said, "will not get in."

To obtain the visas, businesses must apply by job category, such as cooks, waiters, and cashiers. The establishments have to prove a need for each category by submitting payroll records before they can hire the visa workers.

Sandy Durm and her husband, Joe, who own two St. Ignace businesses, Java Joe's and Jabber Joe's, said the first day their attorney could file for the three visa workers they need was the same day the cap was reached, January 2. With more applications filed than the visa allocation, whether their application will be approved, they say, is up in the air.

"They basically will pull them out of a hat because too many filed," said Mr. Durm. "We're kind of stuck."

Concerned about not getting the Jamaican employees they usually hire, the couple is working on a back-up plan of calling on downstate family members to work in their restaurants.

"We may have to have relatives come up and help," said Mrs. Durm. "There just is not enough local help."

Mrs. Myers of Mackinac Island agrees the pool of available workers in the area is too small.

"We have a limited number of American employees in the region," she said.

Local employment data backs up their claims. Last August, the county's workforce numbered 8,244, and of those, only 282 were unemployed, or 3.4%. In February, county unemployment peaked at 21.9%.

Businesses and the local economy, say business leaders, would be hurt by the shortage of H2B workers.

"Our businesses," said Mrs. Myers, "are going to lose out and our whole economy is going to lose out."

The Durms say they may be forced to shorten business hours because of the lack of available workers.

Legislation introduced last year by U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak that would have made the returning worker exemption permanent has stalled. Asimilar bill is languishing in the Senate. Attempts to add the exemption to the Omnibus Bill, passed by legislators at the end of 2007, were derailed the Hispanic Caucus, which was pushing for comprehensive immigration reform, Mr. Stupak said, although the caucus did not object to that measure specifically.

Mr. Stupak now encourages business owners to continue their efforts to build legislative support for their concerns.

"Congressman Stupak will continue to work with House leaders and the Hispanic Caucus to extend the H2B returning worker program," Nick Choate, press secretary for the congressman, told The St. Ignace News Monday, January 7. "The grassroots efforts by seasonal businesses throughout the First Con- 0gressional District have been instrumental in building a broad base of support in Congress, and he encourages business owners to continue this work."

"We're hoping Congress will see the cap was met so early," said Mrs. Myers, "and all these businesses got shut out."

John Hulett, general manager at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, agrees legislation that would help local businesses this year is still possible, but uncertain.

"We're not hanging our hat on that," he said.

In the past, the hotel has relied heavily on H2B visa workers, even opening early to assure needed staffing levels would be met. Now, managers will be interviewing employees from other properties the hotel owns. Plans also include mounting a national newspaper and magazine advertising campaign to seek potential employees for Grand Hotel. Job openings, said Mr. Hulett, are posted on the hotel's Web site.

Hiring more part-time seasonal employees, rather than full-time seasonal workers, is another option the hotel is using. The mix, he said, would have some employees arriving and leaving early in the season, with other employees arriving mid-season and staying into the fall.

"Our season is looking good," he said. "Staffing-wise and business-wise, we're very optimistic."

For smaller businesses that lack additional resources, filling positions may prove to be more difficult, and owners still are trying to get legislation passed.

Businesses are asking everyone to contact Congressional representatives, Mrs. Myers said.

"Let them know how important it is to the Straits economy," she said. "We're still holding out hope. We're just a bunch of small business owners that are trying to do our business."