CONCORD, N.H. — A group of U.S. senators, including Sens. Angus King of Maine and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, is urging President Biden to rescind the Trump administration’s ban on seasonal, employer-sponsored and cultural exchange visas.

The processing of non-immigrant visas was halted in June and is expected to expire on March 31, but businesses that rely on the temporary workers, especially during the summer, have struggled to fill jobs, the senators said in a letter to Biden dated Wednesday.

The ban “continues to harm a wide cross-section of families, businesses, and communities across the country,” said the letter, also signed by Democrats Cory Booker and Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado.

The Trump administration had cast the effort as a way to free up jobs in an economy reeling from the coronavirus. It applies to H-1B visas, which are widely used by major American and Indian technology company workers and their families, H-2B visas for nonagricultural seasonal workers, J-1 visas for cultural exchanges and L-1 visas for managers and other key employees of multinational corporations.

Related Headlines


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.