FEATURED NEWS
06.02.25
Galveston, TX – June 2, 2025 – As millions of tourists begin to filter through the island during its busy summer months, hundreds of international students will do the same, helping anchor the local hospitality industry.
Utilizing temporary foreign labor during peak tourism months is nothing new for the local hospitality industry, with Landry’s Inc. — which owns The San Luis Resort, 5222 Seawall Blvd., and three other hotels on the island — entering its 20th year of partnership with Alliance Abroad, a company that sponsors short-term foreign workers.
J-1 Visa holders are foreign nationals participating in a temporary, non-immigrant program in the United States, typically for educational, cultural or professional exchange purposes. These programs are sponsored by organizations designated by the U.S. Department of State — such as Alliance Abroad — and the J-1 Visa is the tool used for their temporary stay.
An estimated 800 temporary foreign workers under Alliance Abroad’s sponsorship will come to Galveston to help meet this year’s seasonal demands, said James Bell, chief executive officer of Alliance Abroad’s parent company Alliance Strategies.
Bell estimated more than 1,000 temporary foreign workers will be employed on the island this summer. The tourism industry as a whole supports 12,702 jobs — 1 in 3 on the island, Galveston Park Board officials said at the organization’s tourism summit last month.
Alliance Abroad and the J-1 Visa holders it sponsors are crucial to Landry’s Inc.’s summertime workforce, Paul Schultz, vice president of hospitality, said.
“We do a job fair along with other Landry’s entities,” Schultz said. “That’s a push for local. We’re constantly trying to keep that relationship with Galvestonians or people in this area that would come and help us out with our summer needs.
“But we just never get to that point on a local level that provides us with the amount of associates to really operate a fine resort here in Galveston.”
The exchange visitor visa program can only be used when the hosting employer can demonstrate that there is no local talent available to fill specific positions, Bell said.
Despite local hiring efforts, many Galveston employers still need additional workforce support from foreign workers because of visitor demands, Shultz said.
Galveston in 2024 welcomed 8.9 million visitors, including 2.9 million overnight visitors, 4.3 million day visitors and 1.7 million cruise visitors, Park Board officials said.
“All of our entities in Galveston have challenges with finding that summer workforce because of the volume of people that come here,” Schultz said.
Student and exchange visitor visas have recently come under the microscope of the Trump administration.
A cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Associated Press on May 27 said the State Department plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting.
“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity” until the guidance is issued, the cable said.
Concerns over exchange visitor visas also came to light in President Donald Trump’s first term, when the Wall Street Journal in August 2017 reported that Trump was considering reductions to parts of the J-1 visa program.
When asked about Alliance Abroad’s concern about the future of immigration programs such as the J-1 Visa, Bell said he’s staying informed on any changes, but noted the program has “always had bipartisan support.”
“It would be complacent of me not to keep my eye on it,” Bell said. “A big part of what I do is continually educating our elected officials on Capitol Hill about the value of the programs, not necessarily just for Galveston, but across the whole of the country.”
The economic benefits of the exchange visitor visa program serve as justification for its continuance, Bell said.
“We did some independent research on it and the economic value of the J-1 programs is $880 million of economic value to the country,” Bell said. “The country extends no funding to that. It’s all privately funded, so therefore there’s zero investment from the taxpayer.
“And $880 million, just short of $1 billion positive impact that the country benefits from that. So, it’s hard to argue that.”
While economic benefits are important, it’s the cultural exchange aspect of the program that makes a lifelong impact, said Jody Jones, director of human resources at the San Luis Resort.
“I’ve been doing this program for a really long time and I still get emails from some of the students just checking in,” Jones said. “I have a daughter that worked at Rainforest Cafe about 15 years ago, and she formed a relationship with a young lady from Ukraine, and to this day, they still email each other.
“This program does definitely create relationships with a better understanding of how their life is and how our life is.”
By LAUREN FRICK The Daily News
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