Precarity and guest work in U.S. tourism: J-1 and H-2B visa programs

ABSTRACT

Over the past couple decades, hotels and resorts in the United States have come to rely on the influx of foreign guest workers to meet labor demand during peak tourism seasons. In particular, employers leverage two visas programs: J-1 and H-2B. While helping to solve seasonal workforce issues, these programs have come under scrutiny by worker advocacy groups and other stakeholders who have recognized that both programs at times feature unfavorable conditions for workers. This case study focuses on the precarities embedded in the lives of these foreign guest workers when they come to the United States. Particular attention is paid to the ways that policies crafted to facilitate the flexibilities required by employers have a hand in structuring the precarities associated with living and working in the United States. Results show that workers are at times vulnerable to inadequate housing, questionable employment practices, weak program sponsorship, and, in rare cases, human trafficking. Analysis suggests a general spatial unevenness in the ways that workers experience precarities, especially pertaining to the presence of effective community outreach programs aimed at assisting foreign workers. It is argued that the latter are particularly important for ensuring that guest worker programs can achieve the goals laid out by government agencies of providing employment and protection for workers. Research is based primarily on interviews with major stakeholder groups associated with tourism guest work, including guest workers, advocates, and program sponsors. It is suggested that despite recent reforms, more work is needed to ensure that guest workers' experiences in the United States are not fraught with vulnerability.