Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), has introduced S. 278 to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit the timing of issuance of H-2B visas during a fiscal year. Specifically, S. 278 would divide the issuance of H-2B visas throughout the year so that at least 12,000 visas are made available each quarter of each fiscal year. HOWEVER, S. 278 exempts from the annual cap aliens granted an H-2B visa within three years prior to approval of an H-2B petition, thus potentially TRIPLING the number of H-2B workers in the U.S. at any one time. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), has introduced S. 352 to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit the timing of issuance of H-2B visas during a fiscal year. Specifically, S. 352 would split the H-2B visa cap so no more than 33,000 visas are made available for the first six months the fiscal year, and another 33,000 visas would be available in the second half of the year. HOWEVER, S. 352 also exempts from the annual cap aliens granted an H-2B visa within three years prior to approval of an H-2B petition, thus potentially TRIPLING the number of H-2B workers in the United States at any on
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