Support migrant centric journalism today and donate
A Swedish flag flying outside Ellison Bay's Wagon Trail Resort in the US state of Wisconsin gives guests a taste of Europe, one that is usually enhanced by dozens of European workers.
"Poland is a country that we use a lot. Germany, Slovakia, Hungary," owner Jewel Ouradnik said.
But Ouradnik and other resort owners say this year they have fewer foreign workers on their staffs. They say visa rules are stricter than before, and there aren't enough visas to go around.
"Unfortunately, this year the quota for the H-2B visa, which is what we used to bring over seasonal workers, was exceeded in January," Rick Hearden of Horseshoe Bay Farms Resort said.
Ouradnik said she used to employ 50 foreigners, mostly from Eastern Europe. Today she has about 25.
"There are less visas available. That's something we know already," Ouradnik said.
But visas aren't the only thing keeping Europeans at home. Last May, several more countries joined the European Union, including Poland and Slovakia. That made it easier for Europeans to work and live at home.
"I did have a couple of people who were confirmed to come but they got jobs at home, so they stayed home or in a neighboring country," Ouradnik said.
Ouradnik said she's still searching for dish washers and housekeepers. She's taking a closer look at local workers. "There's a lot more Americans to hire, I'm finding, so I hire less internationals."
President Bush signed an H-2B visa bill last week that gives more leeway to foreigners who worked in the U.S. last year. It would let some foreigners who worked in the US last summer come back this year and next. But some resort owners say that law was signed too late, and they're scrambling to sort out the paperwork.
