VOA慢速英语2017--美国新增1.5万临时工作签证

US Will Add 15,000 Temporary Work Visas

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will make an additional 15,000 H-2B visas available for American companies to hire low-wage foreign workers.

In a written statement on Monday, DHS Secretary John Kelly called the move a "one-time increase.”

President Donald Trump¹ has supported a policy called "Hire American.” He wants U.S. companies to hire American workers instead of foreign ones. He has also repeatedly called to limit immigration.

But a DHS spokesperson said without the extra foreign workers, some U.S. businesses could suffer "irreparable harm."

In order to hire foreign workers through the visa program, businesses must show there are not enough U.S. workers "able, willing, qualified², and available" for the jobs.

The H-2B visa

The H-2B visa is a temporary work visa for foreign workers to work in the United States at non-agriculture jobs. The U.S. limits these visas to 66,000 per year. That limit has already been reached for 2017.

According to the State Department, there were 85,000 H-2B visas issued in 2015. This was due to some returning workers being able to receive exemptions⁴ from the limit.

Congress, however, did not renew the returnees’ exemptions when they expired last fall.

Some U.S. industries, like the tourism industry, depend heavily on seasonal⁵ workers. They say they have struggled to hire enough people since the H-2B visa exemptions expired.

To address this problem, Congress recently permitted the Department of Homeland Security to go over the 66,000-visa limit.

The new rules will be published in the General Register later this week. Businesses will then be able to petition for additional visas.

President Donald Trump’s business has used the H-2B visa program to staff his private club Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Trump has also used the club to host visiting heads of state several times.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

exemption³ - n. freedom from being required to do something that others are required to do?

fiscal⁶ - adj. of or relating to money and especially to the money a government, business, or organization earns, spends, and owes?

irreparable - adj. too bad to be corrected or repaired?

petition - n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something?

qualify - v. to give (someone) the necessary skill or knowledge to do a particular job or activity

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

3 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

4 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

5 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

6 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。