The American Hotel & Lodging Association has welcomed a new batch of supplemental H-2B visas announced by the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Labor, framing the move as a critical lifeline for seasonal hospitality employers even as it renews calls for deeper reforms to the guest-worker program.

The decision, unveiled on December 31, 2025, authorizes an additional 35,000 H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2026 on top of the existing annual cap, with hotel groups saying the action will help keep properties staffed and travel demand humming in the coming year.

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Details of the New Supplemental H-2B Visa Release

The latest action by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor will supplement the congressionally mandated H-2B cap of 66,000 visas with an extra 35,000 slots for Fiscal Year 2026.

According to the federal announcement, the additional visas will be targeted at sectors with pronounced seasonal or temporary labor needs, including hospitality and tourism, seafood, forestry, transportation and manufacturing.

The 35,000-visa tranche represents a significant shift from recent years. Between Fiscal Years 2023 and 2025, DHS and DOL repeatedly used temporary authority to release up to 64,716 extra H-2B visas annually, nearly doubling the statutory limit in response to post-pandemic labor shortages.

By contrast, the 2026 allocation trims the supplemental pool by nearly half, signaling a more constrained approach that still attempts to address acute staffing gaps in key industries.

Federal officials have indicated that the fine print governing eligibility, filing windows and worker nationality for the 2026 visas will be laid out in a forthcoming temporary final rule to be published in the Federal Register.

That rule will determine how many of the visas are reserved for returning workers with prior H-2B history and how many will be set aside for specific countries, continuing a pattern that has emerged in previous years.

For travel and hospitality employers, the timing is critical. Many coastal, mountain and resort markets begin recruiting months in advance of peak summer or winter seasons, and the ability to plan around supplemental allocations influences everything from room inventory and restaurant hours to group sales commitments.

AHLA Response: Welcome Relief, but Call for Predictability

Responding to the December 31 decision, American Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Rosanna Maietta applauded federal officials for authorizing thousands of additional visas that hotels and resorts can use to fill seasonal roles.

She described the move as vital for small business hoteliers still grappling with staffing shortages that emerged during the pandemic and have persisted amid tight U.S. labor markets.

Maietta also used the opportunity to underscore what AHLA sees as a structural flaw in the current system: the reliance on one-off temporary rules instead of a permanent, needs-based framework.

While praising DHS and DOL for acting within their limited authority, she pressed Congress and the administration to move beyond the “arbitrary, outdated” numerical caps that govern the H-2B program today and replace them with a system that responds more directly to market demand and verified labor shortages.

Industry groups have long argued that the current model, which sets the annual H-2B ceiling at 66,000 visas split evenly between the first and second halves of the fiscal year, bears little relationship to actual hiring needs in sectors such as lodging, amusement, landscaping and seafood processing.

In practice, the statutory cap has often been reached within days of the opening of filing windows, forcing employers to scramble for alternative staffing or cut operations.

AHLA’s statement reflects growing frustration among hospitality executives who say the recurring cycle of emergency supplemental releases, late-breaking filing rules and fast-closing caps makes workforce planning difficult even for well-resourced brands, and nearly impossible for independent hotels in smaller markets.

Why H-2B Visas Matter to the Hotel and Travel Industry

The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign nationals for temporary, nonagricultural jobs when they can demonstrate a lack of available U.S. workers and establish that bringing in guest workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed Americans.

For the lodging sector, those positions often include housekeepers, front-desk staff, bell attendants, banquet servers, cooks and maintenance workers, particularly in resort and vacation destinations.

Many of the properties most dependent on H-2B labor operate in remote or highly seasonal locations where local labor pools are limited and housing costs for workers are high.

Mountain ski resorts, coastal beach towns, national park gateway communities and island destinations have all leaned heavily on guest-worker programs to keep hotels, restaurants and attractions fully staffed during peak periods.

Industry surveys have repeatedly shown that labor shortages remain a top concern for hotel owners and operators, even as overall travel demand has stabilized and in many markets surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Without access to sufficient seasonal staff, some properties report closing floors, limiting dining options or reducing services like daily housekeeping, changes that can affect guest satisfaction and revenue.

AHLA and other hospitality trade groups contend that a reliable supply of H-2B workers allows hotels to maintain service standards, sustain occupancy and support local economies that depend on tourism.

They argue that when guest-worker visas are unavailable or delayed, the impact ripples outward to local suppliers, transportation providers and small businesses that rely on visitor spending.

Recent History of Supplemental H-2B Allocations

The 35,000 additional visas for Fiscal Year 2026 follow several years of aggressive supplemental allocations designed to blunt the impact of worker shortages.

For Fiscal Year 2025, DHS and DOL authorized up to 64,716 extra H-2B visas through a temporary final rule, with roughly 44,700 designated for returning workers and 20,000 reserved for nationals of specific countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Those visas were made available in staged allotments tied to the federal fiscal calendar. Separate pools were carved out for the first half of the year, the early second half and the late second half, each with distinct filing windows and start-date requirements.

Immigration practitioners report that some of those tranches, particularly those for returning workers with start dates in early spring, were quickly exhausted, reflecting intense demand from employers in hospitality and other sectors.

Similar temporary rules in earlier fiscal years followed the same pattern, pairing an overall supplemental number with country-specific carve-outs and strict attestation requirements.

Employers seeking to make use of the extra visas typically had to certify that they would face irreparable harm without the requested workers, a threshold that has become a standard part of the supplemental H-2B framework.

The new 2026 release continues this reliance on year-by-year temporary authority granted by Congress, rather than revising the underlying statute that sets the 66,000 cap.

That distinction is central to AHLA’s critique: from the industry’s perspective, short-term fixes help avert the worst staffing gaps but do not provide long-term certainty for investment, expansion and workforce strategies.

Implications for Seasonal Destinations and Travel Demand

The scale and timing of H-2B allocations can have outsized effects on destinations whose high seasons are compressed into a few critical months.

A beach community that relies on summer tourism or a ski town whose economy peaks between December and March can see its public image and economic performance hinge on whether hotels, restaurants and attractions are fully staffed when visitors arrive.

With 35,000 supplemental visas slated for release in Fiscal Year 2026, hotel owners in such markets will likely welcome any additional capacity but may remain cautious in their planning.

Compared with the nearly 65,000 extra visas made available in Fiscal Year 2025, the smaller 2026 pool could increase competition among employers seeking guest workers, especially in sectors like hospitality that share the program with landscaping, construction-adjacent trades and other seasonal industries.

Travel analysts note that guests’ expectations for service have climbed in recent years, influenced by higher room rates, renewed focus on cleanliness and the return of in-person events and meetings.

Properties that struggled with staffing in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic have worked to restore daily housekeeping, reopen outlets and expand amenities.

Continued access to temporary foreign workers is widely seen as a key factor in sustaining those service levels during peak demand periods.

Local tourism boards and destination marketing organizations are also watching the H-2B landscape. If hotels or resorts in their jurisdictions are forced to operate with fewer rooms or reduced services because of labor constraints, it can undercut expensive campaigns aimed at drawing visitors and conventions, affecting tax revenues and employment across entire regions.

Policy Debate: Caps, Worker Protections and Long-Term Reform

The American Hotel & Lodging Association’s latest statement fits into a broader national debate over the size and design of temporary worker programs.

Employer groups in hospitality, landscaping, seafood and related sectors argue that the 66,000 annual cap is out of step with the current economy and does not account for demographic trends like an aging U.S. workforce and low unemployment in many seasonal regions.

Worker advocates and some lawmakers, however, have raised concerns about potential exploitation in the H-2B system, including cases in which guest workers report substandard housing, excessive fees or retaliation for reporting labor violations.

They caution that significant expansions of guest-worker programs should be accompanied by stronger enforcement and mechanisms that give workers more mobility and protection.

In recent years, temporary final rules expanding the H-2B pool have included provisions aimed at oversight and worker safeguards.

These measures have ranged from anti-retaliation clauses to requirements that employers pay at least the prevailing wage and comply with workplace safety standards.

Another notable feature has been “portability” rules that allow workers already in H-2B status to begin work with new employers once a petition is filed, reducing the risk of workers being trapped in abusive situations.

For the hospitality sector, the policy challenge lies in reconciling urgent labor needs with calls for a more orderly and rights-respecting system.

AHLA and other travel industry voices have advocated for a predictable, market-responsive cap and more efficient processing, while also supporting efforts to ensure that bad actors do not gain a competitive advantage by undercutting wages or conditions.

What Hotel Owners and Operators Should Watch Next

With the headline number of 35,000 additional visas now public, attention in the hotel industry is shifting to the forthcoming temporary final rule that will spell out operational details.

Owners, management companies and human resources teams will be closely tracking how many visas are dedicated to returning workers, how much is reserved for specific nationalities and when filing windows will open for different employment start dates in 2026.

Immigration counsel and trade groups are urging employers to prepare documentation early, including evidence of recruitment efforts for U.S. workers, labor market conditions and potential irreparable harm if positions remain unfilled.

Past experience with H-2B supplemental allocations suggests that certain categories of visas can be claimed rapidly once U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services begins accepting petitions.

Hotel stakeholders are also monitoring whether Congress will revisit longer-term changes to the H-2B framework. Proposals floated in recent sessions have included indexing the cap to economic conditions, creating regional or industry-specific allocations, or granting multi-year approvals for trusted employers.

None of those ideas has yet gained sufficient traction to become law, leaving the program reliant on year-to-year stopgap measures.

For now, AHLA’s message is twofold: gratitude for the immediate relief in the form of 35,000 extra visas, and a renewed appeal for lawmakers to craft a more stable system that gives hospitality employers and employees alike clearer expectations about the availability of seasonal foreign labor in the years ahead.

FAQ

Q1. What did DHS and DOL announce regarding H-2B visas at the end of 2025?
The Departments of Homeland Security and Labor announced that they will release 35,000 supplemental H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2026, in addition to the standard annual cap of 66,000 visas.

Q2. How did the American Hotel & Lodging Association react to the new supplemental visas?
AHLA praised the decision as an important step that will help hoteliers access needed seasonal workers, while also urging Congress and the administration to create a more predictable, needs-based H-2B system instead of relying on temporary caps and ad hoc increases.

Q3. Why are H-2B visas important for the hotel and lodging sector?
H-2B visas allow hotels and resorts to hire foreign workers for temporary, nonagricultural roles such as housekeeping, front desk, food and beverage and maintenance, which are often difficult to fill locally in seasonal or remote destinations.

Q4. How does the 35,000-visa allocation for Fiscal Year 2026 compare with previous years?
It is significantly lower than the nearly 65,000 supplemental H-2B visas authorized for Fiscal Year 2025, representing a substantial reduction even as demand for seasonal workers in hospitality and other industries remains high.

Q5. Will all of the new supplemental visas be available to hotel employers?
No. The visas are shared across multiple industries that use H-2B workers, including seafood, forestry, landscaping, tourism-related businesses and certain manufacturing and transportation employers, so hotels must compete for a portion of the overall supplemental pool.

Q6. What does AHLA mean by calling the current cap “arbitrary” and “outdated”?
AHLA argues that the statutory cap of 66,000 H-2B visas per year does not reflect current labor market conditions or the scale of seasonal demand, and that it was set without a clear mechanism to adjust as the U.S. economy and workforce needs evolve.

Q7. How have recent temporary rules tried to protect workers in the H-2B program?
Recent temporary final rules have paired supplemental visas with requirements such as prevailing wage obligations, anti-retaliation protections and provisions that allow some workers already in H-2B status to move to new employers more easily, all intended to reduce abuse and strengthen oversight.

Q8. What should hotel owners do now if they plan to use H-2B workers in 2026?
Hotel owners should consult immigration counsel, monitor upcoming federal guidance on the 2026 supplemental visas, begin documenting their seasonal labor needs and recruitment efforts and be ready to file petitions promptly when the relevant filing windows open.

Q9. Does the new supplemental release change the basic H-2B rules for hotels?
No. The core program requirements remain the same: employers must prove a temporary need, show that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified and available and ensure that employing H-2B workers will not negatively affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

Q10. How might the 2026 H-2B decision affect travelers?
If the supplemental visas help hotels and resorts secure enough staff, travelers are more likely to encounter open outlets, full amenities and consistent service during peak seasons; persistent labor shortages, on the other hand, could continue to result in reduced services, longer wait times or limited room availability in some destinations.