WASHINGTON, D.C. – Idaho Republican U.S. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo joined a bi-partisan group of U.S. senators to ask for additional seasonal worker visas.

More than 30 senators signed the Nov. 13 letter to heads of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Labor to ask that they release the additional H-2B visas, which allow qualifying employers to hire temporary, non-agricultural workers from other countries. There is a separate program for seasonal agriculture workers, under H-2A.

“We write on behalf of the seasonal businesses in our states who lack sufficient employees to

support their operations and sustain their businesses,” senators wrote to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

Congress has set a cap of 66,000 per year, split evenly between the first and second halves of the fiscal year. The federal lawmakers asked that the agencies use authority provided to release additional supplemental visas, which are largely reserved for returning workers, according to the letter.

“These visas will allow employers to supplement their U.S. workforce to keep their businesses open, as well as provide additional certainty regarding their workforce planning decisions in the coming months,” the letter said.

Under the H-2B program, employers must first make a concerted effort to hire American workers and can use guest workers when the local workforce is insufficient. The letter cited a 2020 Government Accountability Office report that found “counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties that do not have any H-2B employers.”

In Idaho, many applications for these types of guest workers were for forestry workers, as well as construction laborers, landscaping and packers, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. 

As of the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, there were more than 3,500 H-2B workers certified in the state. The most workers were employed by Idaho forestry companies. More than 4,000 visas were requested in Idaho.

U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, spearheaded the letter, according to King’s office. The letter was also signed by Democrats from Oregon and Washington and Republicans from Montana and Wyoming.

Risch and Crapo’s offices could not be reached for comment.

This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.