Each year thirty-five thousand foreign workers enter the U.S. to work on reforestation projects for timber producers and the U.S. Forest Service.

In 2019, the Department of Labor certified visas for forestry and conservation work with a cap of 66,000 workers engaged in landscaping.  Of this total 35,000 were employed in forestry and logging. Traditionally U.S. citizens do not seek employment in the sector.  In June, the White House suspended most seasonal temporary (H-2B) visas to encourage employment of U.S. citizens.

According to Politico failure to issue visas will curtail tree planting on public and private lands for the entire season, reduce future timber harvests and prevent necessary brush clearance necessary to prevent forest fires.