Mar-a-Lago files request to hire 61 H-2B foreign temporary workers

Mar-a-Lago files request to hire 61 foreign temporary workers

By Jamie Ehrlich, CNN
Updated 12:26 PM ET, Fri July 6, 2018

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's resort, Mar-a-Lago, filed a request to the Department of Labor for 61 additional visas for foreign servers and cooks, according to a Job Order Records filed on Thursday and Friday.

The Florida resort requested 61 H-2B visas, which are visas for temporary non-agricultural workers. In order to obtain H-2Bs, employers must prove that there are not enough US workers who are "able, willing, qualified, and available" to do the temporary work. 40 of the visas were for servers, while 21 were for cooks.

In January, the resort requested 70 H-2B visas for cooks, housekeepers, and servers.

The latest request sets the wages at $12.68 per hour for the servers and $13.31 for the cooks. Due to terms set by the visa, employees can only work for the company that sponsors the visa itself. The servers and cooks would work October through May.

The President has said before in a 2015 interview with MSNBC that "getting help in Palm Beach during the season is almost impossible." However, the New York Times reported in 2016 that since 2010, only 17 of 300 American applicants were hired at the club. And since October of 2015, Mar-a-Lago has filed 10 separate requests for H-2B visas.

Though Mar-a-Lago requested 61 visas, information has not been made public on how many visas it will receive. Congress sets a cap of 66,000 new H-2B visas a year.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/06/polit...est/index.html

SHAME ON YOU DONALD TRUMP!

HIRE AMERICAN!

START AN APPRENTICE SUMMER PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE STUDENTS TO WORK!

11/5/17

Trump secures 70 foreign workers for Mar-a-Lago

Not surprised. His hiring of these folks came out during his campaign. Nothing has changed.

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Originally Posted by Beezer

SHAME ON YOU DONALD TRUMP!

HIRE AMERICAN!

START AN APPRENTICE SUMMER PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE STUDENTS TO WORK!

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The jobs aren't for the summer at Mar-A-Lago, they're in the winter, October to May, during school.

Donald Trump to Foreign Workers for Florida Club: You’re Hired

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016...isable=upscale
Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla.CreditRyan Stone for The New York Times

By Charles V. Bagli and Megan Twohey

• Feb. 25, 2016

Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., describes itself as “one of the most highly regarded private clubs in the world,” and it is not just the very-well-to-do who want to get in.

Since 2010, nearly 300 United States residents have applied or been referred for jobs as waiters, waitresses, cooks and housekeepers there. But according to federal records, only 17 have been hired.

In all but a handful of cases, Mar-a-Lago sought to fill the jobs with hundreds of foreign guest workers from Romania and other countries.

In his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Trump has stoked his crowds by promising to bring back jobs that have been snatched by illegal immigrants or outsourced by corporations, and voters worried about immigration have been his strongest backers.

But he has also pursued more than 500 visas for foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago since 2010, according to the United States Department of Labor, while hundreds of domestic applicants failed to get the same jobs.

The visas are issued through one of a handful of legal and often debated programs through which employers can temporarily hire foreign workers when American labor is not available. As part of its applications for the visas submitted to the Labor Department, Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago attested that in the vast majority of cases, it was unable to fill the positions with American workers, or, as he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in September, “getting help in Palm Beach during the season is almost impossible.”

Asked why his club must seek so many foreign workers when Americans have applied for the same positions, Mr. Trump said in a telephone interview from Mar-a-Lago this month:

“The only reason they wouldn’t get a callback is that they weren’t qualified, for some reason. There are very few qualified people during the high season in the area.”


Mr. Trump, who supports legal immigration, drew a parallel with grape growers in California who need extra laborers during the harvest.

“I want to protect our borders,” he said. “I also want to protect our businesses. They have to come in legally, and then they go back. Certain areas, in really successful areas, where we can’t get help, many people do that. That’s a good thing. Otherwise, you hurt your business.”

From Florida resorts to Midwestern farms to Silicon Valley technology companies, the number of guest workers has been growing, even as labor advocates have accused employers of using the programs to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. The Labor Department is investigating whether outsourcing companies hired by Disney used such a program to replace American employees who were qualified and already doing the jobs.

In Palm Beach County, Tom Veenstra, senior director of support services at CareerSource, a job placement service, took issue with Mr. Trump’s contention that he could not staff his clubs with locals. “We have hundreds of qualified applicants for jobs like those,” he said.

After a report by Reuters in July about Mr. Trump’s use of guest workers, executives from Mar-a-Lago met with recruiters from Mr. Veenstra’s agency, promising to request local workers for 50 positions.

But Mar-a-Lago sent over just a single job request, for a banquet server. Mr. Veenstra said CareerSource referred four applicants to the club, and one of them got the job.

Since then, Mr. Veenstra said, “we haven’t received any other job orders.”

Other clubs in the Palm Beach area on Florida’s east coast, including the Breakers, a well-known beachfront resort near Mar-a-Lago, also use guest workers. Industry experts say they can be attractive to employers because they are essentially a captive work force.

The foreign employees must be paid the Labor Department-approved “prevailing wage” for the job and location. But they can work only for the company that sponsored the visa, and cannot, for instance, switch to another resort down the road where the pay is better without a new visa approval. A 2015 report by the Government Accountability Office found that guest workers’ precarious position tended to discourage complaints about mistreatment by employees fearful of retaliation by the employer.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016...isable=upscale
Mr. Trump with his wife, Melania Trump, center, and daughter Ivanka Trump during an event at Mar-a-Lago in 2014.Credit Larry Marano/Getty Images

“You almost have them as indentured servants,” said Danny Fontenot, the director of the hospitality program at Palm Beach State College. “And they affect everyone else’s wages.

You can make a lot of money by never having to give your employees raises.”

Greg Schell, a lawyer in Palm Beach County who has helped foreign guest workers sue employers over labor violations, said companies frequently made little effort to find local employees before applying for visas.

“I have seen no demonstrated need to import guest workers for the hospitality industry,” Mr. Schell said. “Employers who want to find American workers find them.”

For at least 15 years, according to the Labor Department, Mr. Trump’s properties have requested guest-worker visas, including at the Mar-a-Lago Club, the former estate of the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, where the initiation fee alone is $100,000.

Housekeepers from abroad ensure that the venue’s eight seaside cabanas are spotless, the Dorian stone from Genoa shines and the lavish guest rooms and suites in the main house, an 89-year-old mansion in the Hispano-Moresque style, are fresh for visitors.

Foreign workers prepare meals and serve them at the beachfront bistro or the main dining room, and deliver cocktails at wedding receptions in the elegant White & Gold Ballroom or the more recently built Donald J. Trump Ballroom. From October to May, tourism’s high season in Palm Beach, Mr. Trump can often be found at the club on weekends.

He has also sought guest workers at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and Trump National golf club and spa in Jupiter, Fla., as well as at his vineyard in Virginia and golf clubs in New Jersey.

It is not clear how many visas were actually granted to Mar-a-Lago or other Trump properties. While the Labor Department certifies a company’s need for visas, it is up to Homeland Security and the State Department to grant them, and those departments said they were unable to provide information on how many visas each employer had received.

Mr. Trump and other resort owners use a type of visa, designated H-2B, for temporary, low-skill, nonfarm workers; there is a nationwide limit of 66,000 such visas a year.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016...isable=upscale


Renee L. Seymore, who applied to be a waitress at Mar-a-Lago last year, at her home in Opa-Locka, Fla. “They told me I had a great interview,” she said. “But I never heard anything back.”CreditRyan Stone for The New York Times

Before it can be granted approval to hire foreign workers through H-2B visas, an employer has to advertise the openings on a state website of job listings and twice in a local newspaper, and to report the number of local applicants and hires to the federal government.

According to records Mar-a-Lago submitted to the Labor Department, it had received at least 296 local names for 520 seasonal jobs since 2010. Some applied directly to the club; others were referred through a job placement service.

Mar-a-Lago hired 17, about 6 percent of the local applicants, the records show.

For anyone not hired, the employer must tell the Labor Department why. Among the reasons Mar-a-Lago gave: that the applicants could not be reached or were not qualified, as Mr. Trump suggested in his recent interview, and that they did not want the jobs.

That was the case for Austin L. Cohen of Delray Beach, who received a call from Mar-a-Lago and a tour of the 20-acre resort after sending in his résumé for a wait staff position that paid $10.60 an hour for at least 30 hours a week.

Mr. Cohen said that he ultimately chose to keep looking for a permanent job, and that he wanted benefits; the job listing did not mention any.

“It was more like a temporary position,” Mr. Cohen said. “You work six months and then you’re out of work again. It was my decision not to take the job.”

Some applicants said they decided against working at Mar-a-Lago because, like some other private clubs, it discourages gratuities; its job listings say “no tips.” Local labor analysts say that private clubs often lose job candidates to restaurants where tipping is permitted.

But Renee L. Seymore, who applied to be a waitress at Mar-a-Lago last year, said she would have gladly taken the job, and thought her chances were good.

“They told me I had a great interview,” said Ms. Seymore, 22, who had worked in a barbecue restaurant. “But I never heard anything back.”

Mar-a-Lago did not respond to a question about why Ms. Seymore was passed over. The New York Times obtained the names of Mr. Cohen, Ms. Seymore and other applicants through Florida’s open-records law, but the state-provided records did not give the reasons for not hiring particular candidates.

Several other applicants contacted by The Times had criminal records, but Mar-a-Lago did not state that as a reason for rejecting anyone.

To find foreign workers for his resorts, golf clubs and vineyard, Mr. Trump uses a recruiter based in upstate New York, Peter Petrina. Mr. Petrina, who declined to comment, is of Romanian descent and has an office in Romania, which has served as a labor pool for many European countries.

Employers are obligated to pay for workers’ transportation to the United States and any recruitment fees. The visas are valid for 10 months, although in some circumstances, they can be extended to three years.

Mr. Petrina recruits for other American employers, but highlights his connection to Mr. Trump in Romania, where newspaper articles say that he tries to recruit young people who take hospitality courses in college.

Local workers like Bonafacio Quevedo say they are being forced to compete with the imported workers. He said he was turned away from Trump International Golf Club when he applied in 2012 despite having previously worked as a waiter there and at Mar-a-Lago. Today he works full time at a nearby club.

“A lot of big establishments hire from foreign countries,” he said. “But there are a lot of local people looking for work.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/26/u...club.html?_r=1

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The visas are valid for 10 months, although in some circumstances, they can be extended to three years.

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Not the H2B visas. That must be some other type of visa.

I know some people are fascinated with this H2B seasonal work visa, the NYTimes of course is only interested in it because Trump Organization uses it and has used it for years, but this visa doesn't worry me for several reasons, the number of visas available are small, only 66,000 a year, maybe increased due to demand to 81,000 some years, the jobs are low wage, they're only 6 month or less jobs, and the employer is responsible for their transportation, taxes and making sure they leave on time. They come, they work, they leave. They also can't repeat. I read that in the H2B program, a H2B visa worker can only use it 1 time with that employer. They might work for another employer next season but they can't work for the same one again. They also don't bring their families.

Americans need full time jobs. Like the dairy jobs, full time 40 hour plus work weeks, year round with benefits.

I don't think we should expand H2B visas and we've fought hard here to fight any permanent expansion to the H2B program. But this short term, worker only, no families, come, work, leave program doesn't bother me.

The H1B visa is the real problem because these are full time great jobs at great salaries and Americans are being fired and replaced with H1B visa workers. An H1B visa is not a seasonal 6 month visa, it's a long term 6 year visa and they bring the family plus they breed while they're here, plus there's another visa that they can get so their spouse can work and steal yet another job from an America. UGH!!

How long is an h2b visa good for?


H2B Visa duration: The duration of the H2B is limited to the employer's need for the temporary workers. The maximum authorized period is one year. However, the employer may extend the duration up to three years in some situations.

H2B Visa Requirements, H2B Application ...

www.h1base.com/content/h2bvisa
================================


H2B VISA PROGRAM

- Short Term 'Seasonal Jobs' Work Visa / Permit

The H2B visa is a great visa for people who want to work in the USA in temporary, seasonal and fun jobs across the Country.

If you want to travel to America and work in jobs such as hospitality, theme parks, on a cruise ship, in a restaurant, or even as a ski instructor - the H2B visa is the right visa for you.


Types of H2B Visa Jobs / H2B Work includes:
Hospitality workers, Hotels / Motels, Chefs, Resorts and Theme Parks, Ticket Sales, Cruise ships, Construction workers, Maintenance, Janitorial, Ski Resorts, Landscaping, Golf Courses, Water parks, Security, Ride Operators, Restaurants and bars, Warehouse, Retail Stores


To Find H2B Jobs and Sponsorship - Start Here

The H2B visa Process and Requirements:
1) The employee must 1st have a job offer from a US employer to perform a temporary job (H1 Base can help you).
2) The employee must meet the minimum qualifications for the job that the employer has offered.
3) The US employer files the H2B application with the US Immigration Bureau.
4) The employee must intend to return home when the job ends and visa expires.

Who Qualifies for an H2B visa
The H2B visa is available to employers of foreign non-professionals Not working in the agricultural field. This visa is only available for work that is temporary in nature. For H2B purposes, that means:
- Recurring seasonal need;
- Intermittent need;
- Peak-load need; and
- One time occurrence.

H2B Visa duration:
The duration of the H2B is limited to the employer's need for the temporary workers. The maximum authorized period is one year. However, the employer may extend the duration up to three years in some situations.


If the prospective worker is outside of the USA , they must then apply for a visa with the US consulate.
- The H2B visa application includes:
- Job offer from a US employer
- DS-156, Application for Nonimmigrant Visa
- DS-157 if male between the ages of 16 and 45)
- The necessary filing fees
- Copy of Notice of Approval of H-2B Petition
- Passport
- One passport-style photo
- Evidence of ties to the home country (family, property, current occupation, etc.) Like with any other nonimmigrant visa, the Consulate needs to see that each applicant has ties to the country so that he or she will return home after their work period ends.

If the prospective worker is already in the USA and is changing from one nonimmigrant status to another, a visa is not required. However, if the worker leaves the US and wants to re-enter, they may need a visa.

Entry into the USA
Applicants should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States . The officer at the port of entry has authority to deny admission, even if the applicant has a visa. Also, the officer at the port of entry, not the consular officer, determines the period for which the bearer of a temporary work visa is authorized to remain in the United States . At the port of entry, officials issue Form I-94, Record of Arrival-Departure, which notes the length of stay permitted. The decision to grant or deny a request for extension of stay, however, is made solely by the USCIS.

http://www.h1base.com/content/h2bvisa

The seasonal H2B visa is 6 months or less. There's another type of H2B "temporary" "one-time occurence" visa which isn't based on seasonal work, that's what the construction industry for example would use, for a particular project if they could show a valid temporary worker shortage. I think that would be pretty hard to prove in most situations but they're eligible to try for big major projects that could have 1 to 3 year construction periods.

A lot of people on WELFARE and FOOD STAMPS...start a program where these Employers post jobs at welfare office and they MUST go to work!

One parent work days and one work nights.

USCIS.GOV

H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers

Versión en español

Alert: USCIS is no longer accepting petitions filed under the temporary final rule (PDF) increasing the FY 2018 numerical limit on H-2B nonimmigrant visas. USCIS will reject and return any petitions received after June 6, 2018 that were not selected in the lottery, as well as any cap-subject petitions.

Petitions accepted for processing will have a receipt date of June 11, 2018. Premium processing service for these petitions begins on that receipt date. Only employers whose petitions were accepted will receive receipt notices.

USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions with start dates for FY 2018 that are exempt from, or not counted towards, the congressionally mandated cap. USCIS will consider petitions requesting an employment start date on or after Oct. 1, 2018, towards the FY 2019 cap. These petitions will be subject to all eligibility requirements for FY 2019 H-2B cap filings.

The H-2B program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. A U.S. employer, or U.S. agent as described in the regulations, must file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, on a prospective worker’s behalf.

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/...llapse-all.pngClose All https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/...expand-all.pngOpen All

Who May Qualify for H-2B Classification?

H-2B Cap

H-2B Program Process

Reporting H-2B Fraud

H-2B Eligible Countries List

Period of Stay

Generally, USCIS may grant H-2B classification for up to the period of time authorized on the temporary labor certification. H-2B classification may be extended for qualifying employment in increments of up to 1 year each.

A new, valid temporary labor certification covering the requested time must accompany each extension request. The maximum period of stay in H-2B classification is 3 years.

A person who has held H-2B nonimmigrant status for a total of 3 years must depart and remain outside the United States for an uninterrupted period of 3 months before seeking readmission as an H-2B nonimmigrant. Additionally, previous time spent in other H or L classifications counts toward total H-2B time.

Exception: Certain periods of time spent outside of the United States may "interrupt" an H-2B worker's authorized stay and not count toward the 3-year limit. See the Calculating Interrupted Stay for H-2 Classifications Web page for additional information.

Family of H-2B Workers

Employment-Related Notifications to USCIS

Fee-Related Notifications to USCIS

H-2B Petitions Associated with the Military Realignment on Guam

Last Reviewed/Updated: 06/11/2018

https://www.uscis.gov/working-united...ltural-workers

DHS Secretary Nielsen Approves 15K Additional H-2B Foreign Workers to Take Blue-Collar U.S. Jobs

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https://media.breitbart.com/media/20...s--640x480.jpgTom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images25 May 2018Washington, D.C.2,634Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will allow U.S. companies to import an additional 15,000 low-skilled foreign workers to compete with working-class Americans through the H-2B visa program.

Every year, the U.S. companies are allowed to import 66,000 low-skilled H-2B foreign workers to take blue-collar, nonagricultural jobs. The H-2B visa program is used by businesses to bring in cheaper, foreign workers and has contributed to Americans having their wages undercut.

After staunch lobbying from the big business lobby and business-first Republican lawmakers, Nielsen announced the decision in a statement, justifying the importation of more foreign workers as a necessity in order to help businesses that are “at risk of failing.”

Nielsen said:

The limitations on H-2B visas were originally meant to protect American workers, but when we enter a situation where the program unintentionally harms American businesses it needs to be reformed.

I call on Congress to pass much needed reforms of the program and to expressly set the number of H-2B visas in statute. We are once again in a situation where Congress has passed the buck and turned a decision over to DHS that would be better situated with Congress, who knows the needs of the program.

As Secretary, I remain committed to protecting U.S. workers and strengthening the integrity of our lawful immigration system and look forward to working with Congress to do so.

Nielsen’s ability to expand the H-2B program is a gift to business provided in the 2018 omnibus by retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan.

The 2018 omnibus — like the 2017 omnibus — did not require legislators to vote for expanding the unpopular program. Instead, it allowed DHS to raise the caps.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...NLm_normal.jpgJohn Binder https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f47d.png@JxhnBinder


Wage Data: Businesses Using H-2B Visa as Cheap, Foreign Labor Program http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/10/31/wage-data-businesses-using-h-2b-visa-as-cheap-foreign-labor-program/ …
8:12 PM - Oct 31, 2017

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/10121...g&name=600x314


Wage Data: Businesses Using H-2B Visa as Cheap, Foreign Labor Program | Breitbart

Businesses across the country are using the H-2B visa in order to import a foreign workforce that is much cheaper to employ.
breitbart.com

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The decision to bring more low-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. undermines President Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” executive order. This is now the second consecutive year that DHS has caved to the big business lobby and allowed 15,000 foreign workers to take U.S. jobs.

Though the business community — with the help of the establishment media — has relentlessly warned of so-called “labor shortages,” wage data analyzed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and the Economic Policy Institute crushes these claims.

For example, data has shown that wages for Americans have actually declined in the majority of H-2B visa occupations. Researchers say the H-2B visa program allows businesses to keep a steady stream of cheap, foreign workers in order to avoid raising U.S. wages and recruiting Americans for the blue-collar jobs.

https://www.breitbart.com/big-govern...llar-u-s-jobs/

The H-2B program is just another venue for businesses to undercut wages for jobs American will actually do. Trump was big on his campaign about 'hiring American and buying American' but in reality, that was just another one of his campaign promises he knew would appeal to the American people. In other words, he didn't necessarily mean what he was saying, not fully ... his actions are a clear signal of that.

Since becoming President, Trump he has allowed (and probably encouraged) DHS to raise the H-2B cap two years running. The 2018 increase over the 66,000 cap was larger than the 2017 one. Certainly leaves one wondering where this is going. Speaker Ryan is a huge supporter of more foreign labor, so the Trump administration gave him exactly what he wanted with the H-2B increases.

Nielsen said:

The limitations on H-2B visas were originally meant to protect American workers, but when we enter a situation where the program unintentionally harms American businesses it needs to be reformed.

I call on Congress to pass much needed reforms of the program and to expressly set the number of H-2B visas in statute. We are once again in a situation where Congress has passed the buck and turned a decision over to DHS that would be better situated with Congress, who knows the needs of the program.

As Secretary, I remain committed to protecting U.S. workers and strengthening the integrity of our lawful immigration system and look forward to working with Congress to do so.

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So, Nielsen raised it, but then she wants Congress to take over the responsibility of raising it so Nielsen and Trump won't get the blame for it. Much the same way Trump wants Congress to pass an amnesty, and then he will wiggle out of any responsibility for that and blast away at Congress for doing so. At least some of us are wise to their tricks and maneuvers.

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Originally Posted by stoptheinvaders

So, Nielsen raised it, but then she wants Congress to take over the responsibility of raising it so Nielsen and Trump won't get the blame for it. Much the same way Trump wants Congress to pass an amnesty, and then he will wiggle out of any responsibility for that and blast away at Congress for doing so. At least some of us are wise to their tricks and maneuvers.

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Agree!

Thousands of Puerto Rican's here that NEED jobs! WE are footing the bill for their FEMA housing and hotels. They need to be placed in these Foreign Work Visa jobs OVER bringing more people here!

I do not want to pay for PR's welfare, food stamps and housing.

Get a list of those people not working and place them in a JOB!