U.S. nearly doubles guest worker visas for 2026 — labor groups warn potential wage drop for Americans

The government adds thousands of temporary work visas

The federal government nearly doubled the number of seasonal worker visas available for 2026.

On Jan. 30, the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor added 64,716 H-2B visas on top of the standard annual cap of 66,000, bringing the total to about 130,716.

These visas let employers hire temporary foreign workers for seasonal, non-farm jobs like hotel housekeeping, landscaping, and resort staffing when American workers aren’t available. The hotel industry says it needs the help.

Labor groups say the move could hurt American wages.

The number grew bigger than expected

The Trump Administration first announced 35,000 extra visas on Dec. 31, 2025, then raised that to the full 64,716 a month later.

This marks the fourth straight year the government has released the maximum number of extra visas allowed.

Employers who want these visas must swear under penalty of perjury that their business will suffer permanent and severe financial loss without the workers.

They also have to show that no qualified American workers are available for the jobs.

Critics question employer claims

That sworn statement sounds strict, but critics say it’s mostly self-reported. Employers fill out the paperwork themselves, and enforcement has been limited.

They do have to keep records like contracts, payroll data, and work orders for three years to back up their claims.

But labor advocates argue the system relies too heavily on employers’ word, making it hard to know whether businesses truly tried to hire American workers first.

Visas roll out in three waves

The government is releasing the 64,716 visas in three groups based on when workers start.

The first batch of 18,490 covers January through March and goes only to returning workers who held H-2B status in the past three years.

The second batch of 27,736 covers April start dates with the same returning-worker requirement, plus any leftover visas from the first group.

The third batch of 18,490 opens to all workers for May through September.

Demand far outpaces the supply

The first batch filled up within days. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed the cap hit by Feb. 6, and the agency ran a random lottery on Feb. 13 to decide which petitions made the cut.

During the January filing period, the Labor Department received more than 10,000 applications requesting over 162,000 worker positions.

That jumped from the prior year, when about 8,759 applications were requested for nearly 150,000 positions. The gap between demand and available visas keeps growing.

Hotel industry calls visas critical

The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) praised the visa release.

AHLA President and CEO Rosanna Maietta called the visas critical for hotels to handle staffing shortages and keep up service quality.

The trade group says independent hotels and resorts in remote vacation spots depend heavily on seasonal workers.

AHLA also urged Congress to modernize the H-2B program by cutting barriers for returning workers and building a system based on actual labor demand rather than fixed caps.

Hotels remain about 200,000 workers short

The hotel industry remains roughly 200,000 workers short compared to before the pandemic, according to AHLA’s own estimates.

Housekeeping is the toughest role to fill, with nearly 38% of hotels reporting shortages in that position. Front desk, kitchen, and maintenance jobs also face ongoing staffing gaps.

Hotels and motels make up about 8.67% of all certified H-2B seasonal workers, making the industry the second-largest user of the program behind landscaping.

World Cup puts extra pressure on hotels

The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Hotel booking volumes around big matches have more than doubled compared to the same period in 2025.

Average nightly rates for the World Cup window range from about $146 in Houston to roughly $583 in New York.

Industry experts say the timing of the extra visas matters because employers need to staff up for the tournament and other major 2026 events.

Labor groups warn that the program hurts wages

The AFL-CIO has long argued that the H-2B program displaces American workers, pushes down wages, and exposes foreign workers to exploitation.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that in the top 15 H-2B jobs, certified wages for H-2B workers fell as much as 24.7% below the national average for those same roles.

The EPI has also documented that employers in the main H-2B industries have been responsible for more than $2 billion in wage theft over two decades.

Industry-backed study paints a different picture

In September 2025, the H-2B Workforce Coalition, which AHLA co-chairs, released a study by Edgeworth Economics. It found the H-2B program had not harmed American workers’ employment or wages.

The study concluded that each H-2B worker supports roughly three to five local U.S. jobs.

A separate Congressional Research Service review of three independent studies using lottery-based data also found no evidence that H-2B hiring displaces American workers.

Congress hasn’t raised the cap since 1990

The extra visas only apply to fiscal year 2026. Congress has not raised the base H-2B cap of 66,000 since 1990.

Each year, lawmakers must separately authorize the Department of Homeland Security to release additional visas through the budget process. Both sides agree the system is unpredictable.

Industry groups want a higher permanent cap tied to demand.

Labor advocates want stronger worker protections and a path to permanent residency instead of temporary status.

Reform proposals sit in Congress

AHLA wants Congress to replace the fixed annual cap with a needs-based system.

The EPI wants reforms that give H-2B workers a path to permanent residency and require employers to pay higher wages.

A bipartisan amendment adopted by the House Appropriations Committee in June 2025 would temporarily increase H-2B availability further.

A separate bill called the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act would create a new H-2C visa category for seasonal hospitality workers.

Whether Congress acts on any of these proposals remains unclear.

Visa filing windows close this fall

For hotel guests, the visa expansion may help keep service levels steady at seasonal destinations and during big events this year.

For American workers in seasonal industries, the debate over whether the program helps or hurts their job prospects continues.

For employers, the visas offer short-term relief, but the filing windows are tight, and spots are filling fast.

The rule stays in effect from Jan. 30 through Sept. 30, 2026, and USCIS will not accept supplemental cap petitions after Sept. 15.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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