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Committee hears support and concerns for resolution backing J‑1, H‑1B and H‑2B visa programs
Summary
SJR 28 would place the Alaska Legislature on record supporting J‑1, H‑1B and H‑2B visa pathways to help fill seasonal jobs and teacher shortages. Invited testimony stressed reliance on international teachers and businesses; committee members asked for narrower focus on educators and expressed concern about abuses of J‑1 programs.
Mike Mason, staff to Senator Tobin, presented Senate Joint Resolution 28, which urges preservation and strengthening of J‑1, H‑1B and H‑2B visa pathways to address Alaska’s workforce needs in tourism, seafood processing and education.
Mason noted seasonality in Alaska’s economy and said federal changes — including a recent presidential proclamation and fee changes for certain H‑1B petitions — have made access to these programs more difficult. "Foreign workers play a very key role in supporting our tourist industry," he said, and added Alaska’s seasonal employment swing is large.
Jennifer Schmitz, director of the Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center, said educator shortages are a workforce issue that affect communities statewide and that international teachers have filled positions that would otherwise go vacant. "Over the past five years, more than 500 H‑1B teachers have been placed in Alaska schools," Schmitz said. She told the committee the recent $100,000 payment requirement on some petitions effectively prevents many districts from using the H‑1B pathway and urged support for the resolution, which would request federal relief for educators.
Victoria Francis, director of state and local initiatives at the American Immigration Council, also testified in support, saying J‑1 and H‑1B programs "fill workforce gaps" across industries and that Alaska has hosted thousands of J‑1 participants in recent years. Francis acknowledged concerns about program abuse and called for stronger oversight of sponsors and better enforcement to protect participants.
Committee members raised questions about whether the resolution should be narrowed to focus only on teachers, and Representative Fields and others pressed for clarity on whether the resolution should also ask federal actors to remove the $100,000 requirement; Mason said the resolution as drafted expresses support and urges the congressional delegation to act but does not explicitly demand repeal of the fee. The committee set an amendment deadline and set the resolution aside for a future hearing.
The record shows invited testimony from the education and immigration advocacy sectors emphasizing the programs’ role in staffing schools and seasonal businesses alongside committee concerns about program oversight and whether the resolution should be limited to educators.
