A decision made by the U.S. District Court in Perez v. Perez in the Northern District of Florida on March 4 resulted in the closure of the H-2B program for employers that have not yet gone through the application process. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor stopped processing applications for H-2B visas on March 5.

This has the potential to negatively impact equestrian employees who work as grooms or exercise riders or who fill a wide variety of horse-related jobs at shows and the track. The H-2B program allows barns to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis to fill seasonal or intermittent jobs.

The court ruled that the DOL was overstepping its boundaries regarding the H-2B program but did not mandate that the Department of Homeland Security cease processing H-2B applications entirely. The American Horse Council is urging employers whose staff and businesses might be affected by the ruling to reach out to their senators and representatives to voice their support for the continuation of the H-2B program.

To find contact information, visit the Senate website at http://www.senate.gov/ or House website at http://www.house.gov/ and follow the instructions for finding and contacting your Members of Congress.