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THE U.S. DEPARTMENT of Homeland Security will make available more than 64,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year 2023. The extra visas will help the hotel and travel industries meet continuing labor shortages, according to the U.S. Travel Association. DHS also will issue its normal allotment of 66,000 H-2B visas as well as the 64,716 extra visas. The visas, which permit employers to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform certain labor in the U.S., became available at the beginning of October. Also, the agency created the new Worker Protection Taskforce to make sure the H-2B visa workers are not exploited. "The Department of Homeland Security is moving with unprecedented speed to meet the needs of American businesses," said Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security. "At a time of record job growth, this full year allocation at the very outset of the fiscal year will ensure that businesses can plan for their peak season labor needs. We also will bolster worker protections to safeguard the integrity of the program from unscrupulous employers who would seek to exploit the workers by paying substandard wages and maintaining unsafe work conditions."

Department of Homeland Security has clarified that from 2016, residents of four US states may soon need to show a valid passport in order to board a domestic flight. Travelers who live in Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New York are being urged to apply for a passport or secure another form of REAL ID-compliant identification now. For most travelers, applying for a passport book is the best idea, as it can be used for all international travel as well as domestic identification. Find out more about the REAL ID Act.

Department of Homeland Security has clarified that from 2016, residents of four US states may soon need to show a valid passport in order to board a domestic flight. Travelers who live in Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New York are being urged to apply for a passport or secure another form of REAL ID-compliant identification now. For most travelers, applying for a passport book is the best idea, as it can be used for all international travel as well as domestic identification. Find out more about the REAL ID Act.

Department of Homeland Security has clarified that from 2016, residents of four US states may soon need to show a valid passport in order to board a domestic flight. Travelers who live in Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New York are being urged to apply for a passport or secure another form of REAL ID-compliant identification now. For most travelers, applying for a passport book is the best idea, as it can be used for all international travel as well as domestic identification. Find out more about the REAL ID Act.

ON MONDAY, THE Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor authorized an additional 20,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year 2022. Travel and hospitality industry associations say the authorization will help ease the ongoing labor crisis. The new visas, which permit employers to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform certain labor in the U.S., are part of the first supplemental cap the DHS and DOL have allowed for the H-2B visa program in the first half of a fiscal year, according to a press release. The visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers on or before March 31. The supplemental H-2B visa allocation includes 13,500 visas for returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years. The remaining 6,500 visas are exempt from the returning worker requirement and are reserved for nationals of Haiti and the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

JUST OVER ONE year ago, President Biden signed an executive order directing an "all-of-government approach" to assessing the status of the nation's supply chains to repair disruptions that are currently plaguing businesses large and small. The order led to the creation of a new plan, based on a six-month study, that the administration announced on Feb. 24 and which has earned the approval of the U.S. Small Business Administration and AAHOA. Biden's order a year ago led to the creation of the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. The report includes data from seven cabinet agencies, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, Agriculture, Transportation and Health and Human Services. The administration announced additional actions to build long-term resilience across critical supply chains and formally institutionalize supply chain resilience.