March 2018: The golf industry continues to be unnecessarily harmed by Department of Labor delays in issuing these visas -- plus, the agency has recently initiated a lottery system regarding the distribution of visas. And even more importantly, there remains a serious H-2B visa cap problem. There are not enough H-2B visas to supply the labor needs of seasonal businesses across the country. 66,000 visas are given out annually (33,000 each half of the fiscal year.) In the second half of this current fiscal year, more than 81,000 visas were requested for a pool of 33,000. 66% of requested H-2B visas will go unfilled unless Congress passes H-2B cap relief. The golf industry is reliant on this legal program to fill jobs that otherwise go vacant. Countless employers are experiencing unnecessary 30- to 60-day delays in the processing of H-2B applications. Currently this funding as proposed is part of the omnibus bill. The NGCOA, along with our allied associations of We Are Golf, is working with members of congress to support the funding this vital program within the Department of Labor’s 2018 appropriation.