CONGRESS/DHS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VISAS: “The Trump administration is expected to make about 15,000 additional H-2B visas available for low-skilled foreign workers this summer, a modest supplement to the popular program, lawmakers and aides familiar with the planning said. The number of visas available each year is capped by statute at 66,000, evenly divided between the summer and winter seasons. Congress declined to lift that cap during negotiations this spring. It did, however, give the secretary of Homeland Security authority to issue up to 69,000 more this summer if she determines there is sufficient need. A range of businesses—including fisheries, landscapers and those in summer tourist spots—have been waiting to see if Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will use that authority. Ms. Nielsen hasn’t made her intentions known publicly but has told several members of Congress that she plans to issue an additional 15,000 visas. That is the same number of additional visas that DHS approved last year when Congress punted the matter to the agency. Ms. Nielsen has promised lawmakers to announce her decision soon.”
-Laura Meckler, “U.S. Is Likely to Add About 15,000 Work Visas This Summer,” The Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2018 2:44 pm