while Wealthy Americans get exclusive opportunities to obtain a European Golden VisaUS issues about 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas Every year, many of them are temporary. Programs like H-2B and J-1 visas help fill seasonal roles in industries like hospitality, landscaping and construction, jobs that are often difficult for employees to work with American workers alone. Immigrants make up nearly a third of the hotel workforce, a vital share of the 8 million people who work in the country’s hotel industry.

Frequent changes in visa policy and recent updates to stricter eligibility rules have created uncertainty for employers, especially in the hospitality industry. With fewer foreign-born workers available, hotels are facing severe staff shortages, especially in housekeeping and kitchen roles. This impasse leads to lower service quality, lower guest satisfaction, and lower revenues, a cycle that threatens the sustainability of tourism and business.

Visa restrictions put pressure on hotel staff and tourism income in the United States

As travel demand rises, and hotels and hospitality companies enter the busy 2025 holiday season, they are facing a major recruitment crisis fueled by recent changes in visa policy that have restricted key workforce categories.

• The H-2B visa allows foreign citizens to work for a specific employer

• The J-1 visa supports participation in programs approved by the sponsor

The H-2B visa helps fill short-term labor shortages in sectors such as hospitality, landscaping, and construction, while the J-1 visa facilitates internships, training, research, and teaching. Both are seasonal programs that have long been essential to the American hotel industry workforce.

For these reasons, any changes in US visa policy invariably impact employment decisions in various industries, especially hospitality, and recent restrictions limiting the influx of foreign-born workers living in hotel operations have led to a recruitment crisis, particularly in housekeeping and kitchen roles, where immigrants make up a large proportion of the workforce.

Negative impact on the tourist experience

middle The ongoing government shutdown caused weekend flight delaysThe hotel industry faces parallel challenges, as staffing shortages impact U.S. tourism both operationally and economically.

• Low quality of service – With fewer housekeepers, front office staff, and kitchen workers, hotels struggle to maintain service standards

• Reduced Capacity – Many hotels limit occupancy, close departments, or reduce amenities due to staff shortages

• High labor costs – To retain employees, hotels raise wages, offer bonuses, or rely on expensive temporary employees

• Operational inefficiency – With vacant roles and positions, existing employees are stretched thin, leading to burnout

The staffing challenge negatively impacts tourism by reducing service quality, resulting in lower customer satisfaction and poor performance evaluations. Loss of revenue creates further stress, causing operational inefficiency and higher labor costs. This results in potential loss of revenue due to missed bookings, creating a cycle that further harms the guest experience and business continuity.

while The US travel industry has already suffered more than $1.5 billion With the toll from the ongoing government shutdown, the hotel staff shortage threatens to expand beyond accommodations, sending ripples throughout the entire tourism economy.

What is the future landscape for the hotel and hospitality sector?

Credit: Image by Kevin Phillips from Pixabay

Policy changes rarely affect all sites equally or simultaneously. Hotels and hospitality businesses in certain areas rely heavily on seasonal workers, especially during peak periods. For example, resort destinations rely heavily on seasonal visa holders when demand rises, while major cities and commercial centers grapple with tight labor markets and rising costs.

In the face of this challenge, President Trump posted on his page Social truth website On June 12, along with the farmers, “people in the hotel and leisure sector stated that our very aggressive immigration policy is taking very good, long-term workers away from them” and added that “changes are coming!”

Changes came, but they were short-lived. By June 17, after a two-day hiatus in investigations into restaurants and hotels, DHS reversed the guidance, instructing staff that agents should resume conducting immigration raids at these locations, DHS said. The Washington Post.

Gwen Mills, president of Unite Here, a labor union that represents 300,000 workers in hotels, food service and gaming, warned that the current approach to policy puts many US industries “at risk of collapse.”

“Mass deportation cannot coexist with a strong economy.” Mills said“Agribusinesses, meatpacking plants, restaurants and hotels cannot survive without immigrants. The same is true for many other vital national industries.”

On the other hand, to overcome staff shortages, hotels and hospitality enterprises are adopting multiple strategies: diversifying recruitment channels, reducing room inventory, partnering with educational and training institutes to build local talent pipelines, implementing self-service technology for low-contact tasks, and establishing internal training and mentoring programs to develop a pool of multi-skilled employees.