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Independent restaurants and bars are vital drivers of America’s economy, contributing $1.37 trillion in direct output and $3.5 trillion to total GDP in 2024. Our industry is the second largest private sector employer in the country, employing more women, young people, and minorities than most other careers. People born outside of the United States make up over one-fifth of our workforce — in some states, nearly one-third — and are the reason many small restaurants can stay in business. Independent restaurants, often unlike national chains, benefit dozens of other employers in the communities they serve, ensuring farmers, bakers, wine makers, and other suppliers can keep their doors open.

Despite these massive contributions to our communities, the economics are razor-thin—average profit margins typically fall between 3% and 7.5%, and many months end in the red. Some independent restaurants operate at a loss. New economic pressures on the labor market are putting our industry at at risk:

• A national survey of independent restaurant and bar owners conducted late last year found nearly 9 in 10 business owners express concerns about rising labor costs. Nearly half said they need more employees to meet demand, and 40% sought support managing costs.
• Businesses are reporting that hiring prep cooks, dishwashers, or culturally specific chefs is nearly impossible, also making it challenging to open and grow a restaurant.
• It also impacts consumers. A June 2025 analysis of immigration policies found they are creating a 14.5% increase in food and beverage costs to consumers and a nearly 4% increase in cost of accommodations and dining out.

The current immigration system is challenging for independent restaurants and bars, specifically:

• Immigrants who want to work legally in a restaurant wait over a year for basic work permit approvals. This creates high turnover, making it challenging to recruit and maintain trained workers, and even more difficult to open and grow new businesses.
• H-1B requires a bachelor’s degree, excluding nearly all restaurant jobs.
• H-2B is capped at 66,000 visas per year and restricted to temporary/seasonal jobs, leaving year-round restaurants unserved.
• EB-3 visas are backlogged for years and misclassify most restaurant jobs as “unskilled.”
• Permanent sponsorship can exceed $10,000 per employee. Large companies can absorb these costs, small businesses cannot.

Independent restaurants find it hard to legally hire for critical roles, valued employees live in fear, and entire communities lose stability when hard-working staff are forced out. Staffing gaps hit hard: when a talented prep cook is out, restaurants lose their training investment, can’t serve as many customers, and may need to cut hours or close. Immigration reforms are no longer optional. They are essential for economic growth and worker protection. Given these realities, below are recommendations for how to improve the current system:

Recognize Experienced Food and Hospitality Workers as Skilled Labor

Your neighborhood restaurants are building careers and supporting families for generations. This is not just temporary work. Restaurant workers with significant on the job training should be classified as skilled labor under existing immigration law.

• The Department of Labor (DOL) could redefine “skilled labor” to include not just degree-based knowledge, but vocational and certification-based training. Line cooks, specialty cooks, bartenders, and senior servers aren’t “short term” jobs, they are careers.
• US Citizenships and Immigration Services (USCIS) and DOL guidance could recognize culinary arts as a specialty field with theoretical and practical expertise

Redefining culinary work as skilled labor isn’t just fair to workers — it’s necessary for American restaurants to compete globally and grow domestically. For business owners, reclassification expands access to visa categories currently closed to restaurants, reduces costly turnover, and levels the playing field with large chains that dominate existing sponsorship channels.

Create Lawful Hiring Channels That Work for Small Businesses

Current employment-based sponsorship was designed for corporations with legal departments, not independent restaurants. Fees are high, timelines are long, and compliance risks are intimidating for single-location operators. The federal government should consider practical changes to the H-2B process like:

• Expanding H-2B caps with special small business carve-outs designed to lower cost, speed processing, and offers technical support for independent restaurants. This could include fee reductions, pooled sponsorship models through trade associations like ours, or simplified compliance steps for small employers.
• Longer-term, renewable visas (e.g., 18 months to 5 years). 
• Ability to renew visas in-country (not requiring departure every 6 months).
• Allowing payroll tax history to serve as proof of contribution.

We need visa categories tailored to the year-round staffing needs of restaurants, with lower fees and simplified compliance. A dedicated hospitality visa program, modeled after the temporary H-1C nursing visa that addressed a labor shortage from the early 2000s, could be adapted into a long-term solution for restaurants, ensuring independent restaurants can grow without being forced into the shadows. The federal government could also create a pathway to legal status based on length of employment, clean records, and community contributions. Providing stability for these workers means stability for the businesses and neighborhoods that depend on them.

Enforce Existing Immigration Laws Consistently

Independent restaurants need stability to operate. When immigration enforcement changes dramatically from one administration to the next, it creates uncertainty that makes it difficult for small businesses to plan ahead. On top of that, enforcement actions that damage property or disrupt day-to-day operations put restaurants and their employees at risk through no fault of their own.

What business owners need is consistent, predictable enforcement that protects property and targets true bad actors. When enforcement is steady and fair, restaurants can keep serving their communities, supporting jobs, and contributing to the economy.

Outdated, immigration laws are holding back independent restaurants from their full potential. Immigration policy is not only about public safety; it is about keeping America’s $3.5 trillion food economy competitive, training the next generation of workers, and strengthening our communities. Independent restaurants feed our neighborhoods, create jobs, and preserve traditions. By pairing economic growth with worker protection, the federal government can deliver the balanced, bipartisan reform our economy urgently needs.