Why It Matters

The Seasonal Employment Alliance has hired Continental Strategy LLC to lobby on labor, antitrust, and workplace issues. The move marks a shift in representation: Capitol Consulting Group LLC previously handled the group's advocacy until January 2026.

The alliance's focus centers on the H-2B visa program, which caps seasonal workers at 66,000 annually but has seen demand far exceed that limit in recent years. DHS and DOL jointly announced a temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas for fiscal year 2026. Caroline Farr, a lobbyist at Continental Strategy LLC, leads the account.

By the Numbers

Continental Strategy LLC registered the Seasonal Employment Alliance as a new client on August 19. Continental Strategy LLC received lobbying fees from clients including Grupo Elektra SAB de CV ($840,000) and Arizona State University ($345,000).

Broader Context

Demand for H-2B workers has consistently outpaced the annual cap, particularly in hospitality, tourism, landscaping, construction, forestry, and seafood processing. In fiscal year 2025, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor announced plans to issue an additional 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas.

The Trump administration initially signaled plans to reduce seasonal work visas, then reversed course to issue the full supplemental amount. The move to issue tens of thousands of additional H-2B guest worker visas reflects Trump's sensitivity to American businesses negatively impacted by his tariff policies that insist they need seasonal foreign workers to stay afloat. According to Politico, the Seasonal Employment Alliance banks on Trump's ties to advance the H-2B program.

The Bottom Line

Member communications show 9,054 total mentions of labor, workplace employment, and antitrust topics. Of a sample of 25 communications on those topics, 16 came from Democrats, six from Republicans, and one from an Independent. Senator Angus King led a bipartisan group of senators urging the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor to release the maximum allowable H-2B seasonal employment visas for fiscal year 2026. A 2020 Government Accountability Office report found that counties with H-2B employers generally had lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly wages than counties without H-2B employers.

Within weeks, the Trump administration initially signaled plans to restrict seasonal work visas, then reversed course and issued the full amount allowed under the H-2B program.

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