WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01), a small business owner and member of the House Small Business Committee, alongside Congressman Mike Simpson (ID-02) and Congressman David Valadao (CA-22), led 49 of their colleagues in demanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reconsider a proposed rule that would detrimentally increase the fees charged to small and seasonal businesses who rely upon the H2B program to hire workers and increase the processing times for these visas.

The lawmakers wrote, “Employers who rely on the H-2B and H-2A non-immigrant visa programs do so because they cannot hire U.S. workers to fill the needed positions. They turn to these programs to ensure they have the workforce needed to operate their business and contribute to our communities. These programs are a last resort to going out of business or curtailing expansion.”

The Department of Homeland Security recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining increased fees for H-2B and H-2A non-immigrant visa programs, and instituting a $600 Asylum Program Fee on every petition. In addition, the proposal would increase premium processing time from 15 calendar days to 15 business days.

The lawmakers shared concerns about how this would harm small and seasonal businesses, writing, “The federal government should do whatever it can to support small and seasonal U.S. businesses. The proposed rule changes are unacceptable in their current state as they only bring additional expenses without providing any additional support.”

Additionally, they demanded that the agency properly consider the impact on small businesses, concluding, “We would support USCIS restarting its entire rule making process if it were necessary to ensure that the final rule does not include the fee increases to H2-B and H-2A visa programs.”