SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS ASKS IMMIGRATION SERVICES TO REVIEW VISA STATUS OF LEWISTON HOCKEY TEAM

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator Susan Collins, who chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee which oversees US Citizenship and Immigration Services, has asked the agency to review the visa status of players for the Lewiston MAINEiacs, a Canadian junior hockey league team. The future of the team recently came into question when a number of young Canadian hockey players were denied H-2B visas because the national cap on these temporary worker visas was met earlier in the year. Senator Collins has been working for several months to ensure that employers who rely on these visas have the ability to obtain them.

Senator Collins describes the current H-2B visa situation as a "major concern for the economy of Maine."

Specifically, Senator Collins is requesting that the Honorable Eduardo Aguirre, Jr., the Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, to consider whether the Lewiston Hockey players would be eligible for "J" visitors' visas which are unaffected by the H-2B visa cap.

In a letter to Mr. Aguirre, Senator Collins explained the importance of the hockey team to Lewiston. She wrote, "Aside from the immediate impact this situation will have on the players, the economic impact on the communities of Lewiston and Auburn will be considerable if no team is able to come into Maine for the upcoming hockey season. Not only will the loss of hotel and restaurant revenue cause significant economic hardship in the community, but the city of Lewiston is depending on the team's substantial revenue potential to defray costs associated with the recent purchase of the Civic Center."

In addition, Senator Collins is working to ensure that H-2B visas, on which the hospital and tourism industry in Maine rely during tourist season, are available to businesses as quickly as possible. These visas allow employers to hire workers from outside the U.S. only after they have demonstrated that every attempt has been made to hire American workers.

Senator Collins is cosponsor of two bills to address the issue. The first of which would increase the cap, and the second would make more visas available to employers by not counting past H-2B visa workers against the current cap. In addition, Senator Collins recently contacted the Department of Homeland Security to request that they expedite H-2B visa applications as soon as Congress resolves the issue.

"Tourism is an enormous part of our state's economy. And the MAINEiacs are a source of pride and economic stimulus for Lewiston. It is important that this issue is resolved as quickly as possible," added Senator Collins.

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