Actions taken by President Donald Trump against universities throughout the country are impacting visa applicants vital to Door County’s workforce, but local business owners say that impact should be limited for the summer season.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a pause on new student visa interviews that will last until his department issues “guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants,” according to reports from multiple outlets, but first reported by Politico. The move is aimed at students who wish to attend universities in the United States, particularly those interested in Harvard University. The State Department did not say when the new guidelines would be available or when interviews would resume, but did launch a pilot program to vet Harvard’s applicants for antisemitism.
The pause means that any visa students who have not already completed their visa interview are unable to enter the country.
Wrapped up in the administration’s feud with universities are the J-1 visa workers that Door County businesses rely on to fill summer and fall workforce needs. According to Phil Berndt of Destination Door County, who has closely monitored the J-1 program for many years, there are a record 558 J-1 students slated to work in Door County this summer. That does not include students here on other visas.
Berndt said his fears for the county workforce have been eased by reports that most J-1 visa applicants have already received their visas. In an email to employers last week, Intrax, one of the leading agencies that deals with J-1 visas, said 97% of its applications had already secured visa appointments for this summer.
“People I’ve talked to at the agencies that process these are less concerned, but aren’t getting complacent,” Berndt said. “Most of the students started this process last September and have gone through the interview process. The problem is that in doing this, all the different visas were all lumped together.”
The J-1 visa category is for individuals approved to participate in the work and cultural exchange program, but the applicants don’t attend universities in the United States.
“What the State Department is looking for has to do with students applying to attend American universities,” Berndt said.
Berndt said the pause has been described as a way to upgrade equipment and train staff to monitor applicants’ social media accounts. It remains to be seen if the new process leads to processing delays. In February, CNN reported on internal communications in which the Trump Administration stated its intention to close 27 embassies and consulates and slash staff at those remaining.
At Main Street Market, owner Kaaren Northrop is down two workers who had not yet completed their visa interview in Jamaica when the freeze was enacted. Seven of the Egg Harbor grocery store’s J-1 and two H2-B students are already here. H-2 B visas allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers to fill temporary, non-agricultural jobs.
Northrup said her workers typically schedule their visa interviews at least a month before arriving in the United States, and that the interview process has not usually been a step for serious background checking.
“Visa interviews are basic questions, really a formality,” she said. “You could get denied at that appointment, and I’ve had a couple denied. But it seemed more arbitrary. All the vetting is done by the agencies, long before they get to the visa interview.”
She said she doesn’t understand why the J-1 students have been lumped into the pause.
“It’s such a specific group that wants to come back, so they don’t want to lose that chance,” Northrop said.
At the Piggly Wiggly in Sister Bay, Jay Kita expects to have 28 J-1 or H2B visa workers this summer, and so far, he expects to get them all. Twenty have already arrived, and one was denied earlier in the spring due to an application error.
For Kita, the H2-B visa workers are especially crucial because they stay through Dec. 31 to get him through the fall season and the holidays. Last winter, he had six more come in the winter months, and another 15 that work for him as a second job.
By Myles Dannhausen Jr., Peninsula Pulse