Comment submitted by Enrique Gutierrez, Utopian Labor, LLC

I am writing regarding the impact the H-2B visa program will have on small/seasonal businesses, if the visas are not increased. Being a business owner that consults with several landscape and construction companies in the Midwest area with H-2B labor workers, I see how small/seasonal companies are in desperate need to increase H-2B labor. Due to the visa limit being reached this year so early in the season, there are going to be many affected small/seasonal businesses. Some of them might even have to close their doors because they will not be able to find reliable labor to do the job while others will have to lose the profit they were expecting to expand their business or simply put their kids through college. We are talking about a crisis that will not only affect me in staying in business and trying to make a living, but as well as the companies I consult and represent, and the companies they represent, i.e. insurance, housing, suppliers, and many more. It?s all a chain reaction that will affect many small/seasonal companies and their families, so we have to do something to stop small/seasonal business owners from going out of business and try to help them be successful. We need to suspend the cap on H-2B visas, which will allow foreign workers to temporarily come to this country to fill seasonal jobs that employers cannot fill with Americans. This program is not taking American jobs away; they are simply doing the jobs Americans will no do. The bill would suspend the cap for seasonal workers who have been here on H-2B visas within the last three years. That being said, I ask you, in fact, I urge you to consider in suspending the cap on H-2B program for employers who have been doing the right thing in hiring H-2B workers in the past and helping them achieve there goal in having a successful business in the future. Thank you. Utopian Labor, LLC Enrique Gutierrez Utopianlabor@hotmail.com Utopian Labor, LLC