Costa, Bipartisan Coalition call on DHS to Reconsider Proposed Fee Hikes for Small Businesses

WASHINGTON - Congressman Jim Costa and over 48 of his colleagues sent a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to 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 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.”

Read the full letter here.