OLD ORCHARD BEACH (WGME) – The tourism season may be months away, but state officials say Maine needs more seasonal workers.
The Maine Chamber of Commerce, as well as Maine businesses, say they are still waiting to learn how many temporary visas will be issued to foreign workers next year.
The H-2B visa is a temporary work visa allowing U.S. workers to bring foreigners to the U.S. to perform non-agricultural labor. These visas are issued for seasonal jobs, but there is an annual cap on how many can be issued nationwide.
Last fiscal year, the federal government authorized about 130,000 H-2B visas.
According to Hospitality Maine, employers were certified for 5,236 workers in Maine for the current fiscal year, making it the highest-using state on a per capita basis.
Maine Chamber of Commerce President Patrick Woodcock hopes next year’s number is on par, to keep up with the demands of Maine’s tourism industry.
“I think about some of our tourist destinations that don’t have a significant existing workforce: Bar Harbor, Boothbay Harbor, the Midcoast. These really are essential,” Woodcock said. “The Trump administration has recognized this has been a critical component of seasonal labor. I am encouraged we would be able to continue to encourage the administration to accommodate.”
The Lafayette Hotels are open year-round, but the ones at Old Orchard Beach are busiest in the summer.
Assistant GM Josh Ouellette says the Lafayette Hotels bring in between 150 and 200 foreign workers on H-2B visas every year for the tourism season across Maine and New Hampshire. About 20 of them work at the Old Orchard Beach properties every summer.
“The numbers. The old term, math ain’t mathing,” Ouellette said. “We would love to hire a lot of local work. But when you’re talking about having 40, 50, 60, 70 job openings every single year times how many employers, the labor pool isn’t necessarily there.”
Woodcock expects the Department of Homeland Security to release the H-2B visa cap for the next fiscal year in early 2026.
