Collins seeks bill to expand visas Foreign athletes would be aided

PORTLAND – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Monday she will introduce legislation to expand a non-immigrant work visa program for foreign athletes to cover minor league players and some amateurs.

The Maine Republican said her bill would address concerns that some Canadian hockey players for the Lewiston Maineiacs may not be permitted to return to the United States next season because of federal limits on the number of temporary visas issued this year.

Team representatives were notified earlier this year that the national cap of 66,000 H-2B visas had been met, and the Maineiacs would have to use other visa programs to retain 20 Canadian players listed on their 23-man roster.

Collins said her bill has the backing of Major League Baseball, which said some 300 foreign players have been unable to come to the United States this year to join minor league teams, including the Portland Sea Dogs.

“Sports teams in Maine and across the nation have been unable to bring some of their most talented prospects to the United States,” Collins said. “Major league sports have also lost a traditional source of talent for their teams.”

Under Collins’ bill, minor league athletes and players and coaches for certain amateur sports could apply for P-1 nonimmigrant visas. Those visas are used by athletes deemed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to be performing at an “internationally recognized level of performance.”

Under current law, P-1 visas are typically reserved for athletes already in the majors.

The Maineiacs, who completed their first season this year, are one of nine Canadian Major Junior Hockey League teams based in the United States. Collins said they have had an impact on the local economy.

“For each home game that the team must cancel or reschedule, the economic impact on the city of Lewiston, and nearby Auburn, in terms of lost hotel and restaurant revenue will be considerable,” Collins said.