SEA's November D.C. Fly-in Recap

Thank you to the over 60 SEA members who attended our November 2025 H-2B Fly-In. We came to D.C. with two asks:

Sign the Congressional letter to DHS requesting it release the maximum number of visas allowed by Congress expeditiously
Support the inclusion of Andy Harris’ Certified Season Employer Designation in the final FY26 DHS Appropriations bill

What is the Certified Seasonal Employer Designation? This language allows for employers who have demonstrated a history of compliance in the H-2B program (received a labor certification in each of the last five years) to have the highest number of workers they were certified for in those five years permanently exempted from the cap. If they want to request additional workers on top of this number in any subsequent year, those requests will count against the cap. Given recent enforcement actions against employers who may have previously employed illegal or unauthorized workers, CSE Designation protects long-time H-2B users from being crowded out by less scrupulous employers.

The government shutdown did not slow us down. Employers attended over 100 meetings with their members of Congress. Considering it was our first fly-in since the 2024 election, there were many new members and staff to educate on the H-2B program.

We also enjoyed getting to know several new SEA members including Joe Christopher and Jill Moses, both long-time Mainers. Joe Christopher owns the iconic Sugarloaf Inn and Jill Moses owns several restaurants in the greater Portland area. They ended up spending over 10minutes with Senator Collins at her constituent coffee (usually you get a quick photo and that’s it).