A proposed amendment to the immigration bill currently before the Senate would require forestry contractors applying for foreign guest workers with H-2B visas to fill tree planting positions to demonstrate greater efforts to hire Americans. If the so-called "American Jobs for American Forests" amendment passes, employers will have to prove to state officials that there is no interest in the position despite the company's best efforts to advertise it.
The Forest Resources Association Inc. opposes the amendment, saying the reason so few U.S. workers have historically sought work in reforestation is due to the nature and structure of tree-planting; U.S. workers prefer year-round work in jobs with opportunity for advancement, traits tree-planting does not offer. FRA has started a letter-writing campaign to stop what it calls additional bureaucratic hurdles and delays to the already cumbersome process of obtaining H-2B visas.
