The Donald Trump administration quietly reversed its decision to reduce the H-2B visa quota, restoring the numbers after initially planning a significant cut.
The move comes amid reports that the president’s private businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, rely heavily on workers entering the US under this programme.
While the H-1B visa often draws criticism over alleged misuse, the H-2B visa allows foreign workers to take up temporary, non-agricultural jobs in sectors such as hospitality, landscaping, and tourism.
According to a report by the The Wall Street Journal, the administration had announced late last year that it would halve the number of H-2B visas. However, this decision was quietly rolled back in January following a key meeting in Florida.
The report said Bernd Lembcke, a former manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and Peter Petrina, a long-time member, urged the president to reconsider the cut, citing a shortage of workers ahead of the peak winter and spring tourism seasons.
Trump’s own businesses have also relied on the programme to hire temporary foreign labour.
Following these discussions, Trump reportedly instructed his advisers to expand the H-2B visa allotment.
Responding to queries about the sudden policy shift, the White House said the move was necessitated by a broader crackdown on illegal immigration, which resulted in over a million immigrants losing work authorisation after their temporary legal statuses were terminated.
“The Trump Administration’s number one priority is protecting American jobs and wages, while adequately responding to the demands of President Trump’s rapidly growing economy,” a White House spokesperson said.
What is the H-2B visa?
Since 2016, Congress has set a base cap of 66,000 H-2B visas annually, split evenly between winter and summer hiring seasons.
However, the law allows the president to nearly double this number if economic conditions require additional labour.
The programme is widely used by industries such as landscaping, fisheries, and seasonal tourism, where employers often struggle to find domestic workers for short-term roles.
On December 31, the administration had announced plans to issue only 35,000 additional visas for the 2026 fiscal year—well below the nearly 65,000 extra slots permitted by Congress.
However, just weeks after the Florida meeting, the administration revised its stance, approving an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for the year, effectively restoring the quota.
