Please see the letter to House Appropriations Committee leaders requesting that meaningful and permanent H-2B cap relief be included in the fiscal 2019 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The same letter will be sent to Senate Appropriations Committee leaders. ALCC has signed on to this letter. 

Status of FY18 H-2B Visas
As you know, DHS announced yesterday that it will conduct a lottery to determine the recipients of the 15,000 visas it released on May 31. You can read the DHS announcement at https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-conduct-lottery-temporary-increase-fy-2018-h-2b-cap. 

See this statement for a demonstration of why everyone's continued outreach on H-2B is so important.

What Else Can You Do? 

• Call your Senators and Representative and thank them for their continued help on H-2B issues. You can reach your elected officials at through the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121 or you can call the toll-free number set up by the National Association of Landscape Professionals at (833) 728-3422.  You will be prompted to enter your zip code will then be automatically connected you to your Senators and Representative. Please call today, even if you have done so recently. Ask them to continue to reach out to DHS and DOL and demand that the Departments to immediately release the remaining H-2B visas authorized by the FY18 omnibus appropriations law. Please ask them to also work with their party leaders to pass legislation that permanently fixes the arbitrary H-2B cap.
• Please also call or visit in person with your Senators and Representatives at their district offices. You can find the local contact information for your Senators and Representative on their websites or through www.house.govand www.senate.gov. 
• Encourage your co-workers, suppliers, and customers to reach out to their elected officials.
• Tweet at Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen and Labor Secretary Acosta about the need for immediate cap relief using #SaveH2B.  Their addresses are @SecretaryAcosta, @USDOL, @SecNielsen, @DHSgov AND your Senators and Representative.  You can find their twitter addresses at https://twitter.com/cspan/lists/members-of-congress/members?lang=en. Some sample tweets are below or create your own that talks about the impact of the cap on your business and your American workforce.
• Record a short one-minute video that includes the name and location of your business and the consequences to your business and your domestic workforce if you do not get H-2B workers soon.  This can be a simple statement recorded on a cell phone while sitting in your office or out in the field, or you could ask your U.S. workers to record a short video.  Send them to Laurie Flanagan at [email protected] and she will post the videos on H-2B Workforce Coalition Facebook page.
• Send a Letter to the Editor or Op-Ed to your local newspapers.  Try to make the op-ed relevant to the local economy and keep it to about 750 words. 

Sample Tweets

• @SecretaryAcosta @USDOL @SecNielsen @DHSgov #SaveH2B and save the spring and summer. DHS please release more H-2B visas now.
• @SecretaryAcosta @USDOL @SecNielsen @DHSgov #SaveH2B and save American jobs. Every H-2B worker creates and sustains 4.64 American jobs. DHS please release more H-2B visas now.
• @SecretaryAcosta @USDOL @SecNielsen @DHSgov #SaveH2B and save American seasonal businesses. DHS please release more H-2B visas now.
• @SecretaryAcosta @USDOL @SecNielsen @DHSgov As of 5/18 DOL certified about 89,000 H-2B positions for the spring and summer. DHS please release more H-2B now. #SaveH2B and save American jobs.
• @SecretaryAcosta @USDOL @SecNielsen @DHSgov the fate of seasonal businesses should not depend on a lottery. Release more H-2B visas now. #saveH2B and save American jobs.
• Or tweet a short one-minute video at Secretaries Nielsen and Acosta and your Senators and Representative.

Thanks to everyone who continues to tell their stories to the media and write letters and reach out to their lawmakers. Please keep fighting for H-2B relief. We are doing the same on your behalf.