WASHINGTON - Mark Hjelle, of the Brickman Group LTD., Gaithersburg, Md., recently challenged members of Congress to strike a reasonable balance as it pursues increased U.S. security measures affecting visa programs. Testifying before the House Small Business Committee on behalf of the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA), Hjelle expressed the industry?EUR??,,????'???s concern that well-meaning but impractical changes to visa processing could subject employers dependent on foreign workers to unnecessary hardships. "Currently, service-sector employers face a number of formidable obstacles in securing alien labor under the current H-2B guest worker program," said John Meredith, director of Legislative Relations for ANLA. Some of those obstacles include: 1) The lack of timeliness and consistency on the part of the Department of Labor in processing labor certification applications. 2) An increasing reliance on the use of the $1000 "premium processing fee" in order to ensure timely visa approval by INS. 3) Inefficiency within the State Department's Consular Affairs offices. "While our industry is exceedingly security-conscientious," Hjelle testified, "we strongly urge this Committee and Congress as a whole to be very careful not to create well-intended administrative remedies that quickly turn into roadblocks that negatively impact the flow of legal and essential workers into this country." Hjelle made his comments while participating in a distinguished panel including INS Commissioner James Ziglar, Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy Chief Counsel Thomas Sullivan, and State of Florida Director of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development Pamela Dana. In one bold brush-stroke, the message of H-2B employers everywhere was delivered to Congress, a high level official in a state economically dependent on alien access, and the federal agency responsible for the orderly flow of foreign visitors and workers into the U.S.