By Dale J. Venturini
President & CEO, Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association
On March 10th, as this year’s summer tourism season begins, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that the annual cap for H2B short-term visas for foreign seasonal workers had been reached, preventing the issuance of additional visas until October. This is the first time since being federally mandated over a decade ago that the 66,000-immigrant cap has reached its limit, and those in the hospitality industry are bracing for its inevitable effects.
In Rhode Island, where hospitality and tourism accounts for the second largest industry in the state, restaurateurs and hoteliers rely on the hard-work and dedication of immigrants, some of them returning to Rhode Island’s resorts and restaurants from their home countries year after year, to make their summer tourism seasons a success. With a restricted amount of skilled workers this summer, hospitality and tourism businesses could encounter intense competition among other businesses scrambling to fill positions, resulting in a negative effect on revenues.
Legislation that would lift the cap on short-term visas and allow more seasonal immigrants to ease staff demands has stalled in Congress, leaving tourism-dependent businesses fearful of the devastating effects of a staff shortage. Restaurants, hotels and resorts across the country depend on H2B visas to hire foreign workers for a variety of jobs that would otherwise go unfilled by Americans.
Part of the problem in hiring summer workers is the longer length of the summer travel season. What was once a three-month season has expanded into a half-year enterprise, starting as early as May and running as late as November. With students returning to school in mid-August, many summer hospitality positions are unsuitable for their schedules.
For many a summer season, the solution to staff shortages in Rhode Island—and throughout the country—was the recruitment of skilled immigrant workers. In fact, foreign workers have become so integral to the success of the restaurant industry, that the industry has become the nation’s largest employer of immigrant workers. Immigrants have contributed significantly to the hospitality and tourism industry in an arrangement that is mutually valuable—employers gain reliable workers, and the workers gain experience and make more money then they would in their native countries.
In the businesses where they have worked, immigrants have become part of their family. They come to Rhode Island with only one goal in mind: to work hard to make their dreams a reality. To deny foreign seasonal workers the rewarding career opportunities they can only experience in America, and to jeopardize the tourism-dependent businesses in this country would negatively affect our economy and the vitality of the hospitality industry, the nation’s largest private-sector employer. It is the hope of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association, along with the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel and Lodging Association, that Congress will address the country’s workforce needs, and increase caps on immigrant workers.
For this year’s summer season, the hospitality and tourism industry in Rhode Island has been spared from the effects of the short-term visa cap, for the most part. But, don’t be fooled into thinking that if the cap is not raised, that the problem will never surface. As the issue of H2B visa caps gains more attention in the media and more business owners are aware of the limitations on immigrant workers, not only will hospitality businesses have to compete with each other for a smaller number of foreign workers, but they will also face fierce competition from other industries. The only way the industry can avoid devastating staff shortages in the future is by curing the problem now. Call your US Representatives and Senators, and tell them to pass legislation to raise the cap on short-term visas for foreign seasonal workers. Next year’s summer tourism season is depending on it.
President & CEO, Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association
On March 10th, as this year’s summer tourism season begins, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that the annual cap for H2B short-term visas for foreign seasonal workers had been reached, preventing the issuance of additional visas until October. This is the first time since being federally mandated over a decade ago that the 66,000-immigrant cap has reached its limit, and those in the hospitality industry are bracing for its inevitable effects.
In Rhode Island, where hospitality and tourism accounts for the second largest industry in the state, restaurateurs and hoteliers rely on the hard-work and dedication of immigrants, some of them returning to Rhode Island’s resorts and restaurants from their home countries year after year, to make their summer tourism seasons a success. With a restricted amount of skilled workers this summer, hospitality and tourism businesses could encounter intense competition among other businesses scrambling to fill positions, resulting in a negative effect on revenues.
Legislation that would lift the cap on short-term visas and allow more seasonal immigrants to ease staff demands has stalled in Congress, leaving tourism-dependent businesses fearful of the devastating effects of a staff shortage. Restaurants, hotels and resorts across the country depend on H2B visas to hire foreign workers for a variety of jobs that would otherwise go unfilled by Americans.
Part of the problem in hiring summer workers is the longer length of the summer travel season. What was once a three-month season has expanded into a half-year enterprise, starting as early as May and running as late as November. With students returning to school in mid-August, many summer hospitality positions are unsuitable for their schedules.
For many a summer season, the solution to staff shortages in Rhode Island—and throughout the country—was the recruitment of skilled immigrant workers. In fact, foreign workers have become so integral to the success of the restaurant industry, that the industry has become the nation’s largest employer of immigrant workers. Immigrants have contributed significantly to the hospitality and tourism industry in an arrangement that is mutually valuable—employers gain reliable workers, and the workers gain experience and make more money then they would in their native countries.
In the businesses where they have worked, immigrants have become part of their family. They come to Rhode Island with only one goal in mind: to work hard to make their dreams a reality. To deny foreign seasonal workers the rewarding career opportunities they can only experience in America, and to jeopardize the tourism-dependent businesses in this country would negatively affect our economy and the vitality of the hospitality industry, the nation’s largest private-sector employer. It is the hope of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association, along with the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel and Lodging Association, that Congress will address the country’s workforce needs, and increase caps on immigrant workers.
For this year’s summer season, the hospitality and tourism industry in Rhode Island has been spared from the effects of the short-term visa cap, for the most part. But, don’t be fooled into thinking that if the cap is not raised, that the problem will never surface. As the issue of H2B visa caps gains more attention in the media and more business owners are aware of the limitations on immigrant workers, not only will hospitality businesses have to compete with each other for a smaller number of foreign workers, but they will also face fierce competition from other industries. The only way the industry can avoid devastating staff shortages in the future is by curing the problem now. Call your US Representatives and Senators, and tell them to pass legislation to raise the cap on short-term visas for foreign seasonal workers. Next year’s summer tourism season is depending on it.
