You may have directly or indirectly felt the effects of the low number of J-1 visa students in Door County. On Thursday, 34 people, including Door County business owners, joined in a Zoom call to discuss the current state of the J-1 Visa program and possible solutions and resources going forward. Business owners expressed their concerns and discussed their difficulties patching their business together through the season with minimal staff. The session was headlined by Attorney Glenn Mandel with USITEX Law, who spoke and took questions.

Mandel said that travel restrictions and employee shortages in many students’ home countries were also a barrier, but many students may want to come and work in the United States. One possible solution that was brought up to alleviate staffing concerns for companies was having business owners work together to hire workers. One way of possibly doing that is through the EB3 Visa program, which gives the holder indefinite or permanent residency. Those trying to attain an EB3 Visa need to have two years of experience in a specific skill or equivalent training. Mandel said in the presentation that it’s a fast-growing visa program and explains how business owners can make that work amongst each other. 

One thing that was discussed as a possibility for filling staffing needs and providing opportunities was to keep an eye on resettlement efforts for Afghan refugees at Fort McCoy.