LAFAYETTE, LA – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) released the following statement on efforts to address workforce challenges facing Louisiana’s crawfish industry.
“Many of Louisiana’s crawfish processors are facing significant workforce shortages due to complications involving legal immigrant temporary employee visas. Historically, seasonal workers and the visa system that allows them to be legally employed in America is fraught with controversy and bureaucratic uncertainty. Guidance from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor regarding supplemental H-2B visas failed to account for the unique seasonality and 2025 “start dates” used by some H-2B employers in Louisiana’s crawfish industry. We have been working to address this issue with the Executive Branch, proposing solutions and directly engaging DHS and DOL at the highest levels. My office will continue to advocate for an immediate solution from the Executive Branch.”
Timeline and Background:
- November 14, 2025 – Congressman Higgins joined other members of Congress on a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL), urging the agencies to “exercise authority provided by Congress to release the total allowable number of additional H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26).” Read the full letter here.
- December 31, 2025 – DHS and DOL jointly announced that supplemental H-2B visas would be available for FY26 and that guidance would be forthcoming.
- January 30, 2026 – DHS and DOL jointly announced a temporary final rule, which was formally published in the Federal Register on February 3, 2026. The temporary final rule outlined the award process for 64,716 additional visas through three tranches (January 1 – March 31, April 1 – April 30, and May 1 – September 30). While the guidance notes that employment start dates must match the dates of the respective tranche, it also states that “for purposes of this H-2B cap increase, petitioners may use TLCs that list an employment start date that has passed if the TLC is otherwise valid.” This language led crawfish processors, many of whom filed with employment start dates in November or December of 2025, to believe that their applications were eligible for supplemental visas to be awarded in the January 1 – March 31 tranche.
- January 30, 2026 – Congressman Higgins’ office reached out to DHS and DOL to seek clarification regarding the eligibility of 2025 employment start dates.
- January 31, 2026 – DHS and DOL experienced a lapse in funding after Senate Democrats opposed a House-passed appropriations package.
- February 3, 2026 – Funding for both agencies was restored, with DHS funding set to lapse again on February 14, 2026.
- February 9, 2026 – DHS affirmed to Congressman Higgins’ office that employment start dates in 2025 would be rejected.
- February 11, 2026 – DOL acknowledged the issue with start dates and deferred to DHS’ interpretation of eligibility.
- February 13, 2026 – Congressman Higgins delivered a letter to DHS and DOL, calling for immediate action to either allow applicants to resubmit with new dates or to deem 2025 start dates eligible. The letter reads, “I urgently request your agencies’ assistance in granting targeted exceptions for H-2B visa applications filed by Louisiana employers. These vital businesses have scrupulously complied with all applicable laws, regulations, and filing requirements. However, they now face an untenable situation due to the rapid exhaustion of the FY26 H-2B cap and the timing of the recently announced supplemental visa allocation.” Read the full letter here.
- February 13, 2026 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted a random selection process for the first tranche of supplemental visas, exhausting all 18,490 available for the January 1 – March 31 time period.
- February 14, 2026 – DHS experienced a lapse in funding after Senate Democrats opposed a House-passed Homeland Security appropriations bill.
- February 16, 2026 – Crawfish processors notified Congressman Higgins’ office that they had begun receiving denial letters, which stated the 2025 employment start dates were ineligible and that they could resubmit a corrected application.
- February 18, 2026 – Congressman Higgins’ office met with the Louisiana Farm Bureau and representatives from the crawfish industry to discuss ongoing engagement with the Executive Branch.
- February 19, 2026 – Congressman Higgins’ office continued backchannel communications with the Executive Branch.
- March 3, 2026 – Congressman Higgins delivered another letter to DHS and DOL, proposing “to remedy this situation, I request your immediate intervention to make up to 1,500 visas available for businesses that meet these narrow circumstances, drawing evenly from the remaining supplemental visa allocations planned for FY 2026.” Read the full letter here.
- March 5, 2026 – Congressman Higgins called USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, who expressed optimism that a solution was in process and pending DOL approval.
- March 11, 2026 – Congressman Higgins’ office participated in a call with USCIS, seeking a decision timeline and stressing the urgency of the workforce challenge for the crawfish industry.
- March 13, 2026 – Congressman Higgins’ office participated in a call with DOL, stressing the urgency of the issue and potential economic loss in Louisiana.
