BISMARCK, N.D. – A college in North Dakota’s booming oil patch said Wednesday that it will stop housing foreign workers who are part of a program meant to fill temporary jobs, leaving service industry businesses wondering how they will find employees in a city with a massive housing shortage and just 1 percent unemployment.
Officials at North Dakota’s university system had ordered Williston State College to stop housing foreign workers, saying that the practice “raises legitimate safety and security concerns” and was a misuse of the school’s facilities.
The so-called J-1 visa program is administered by the U.S. State Department and is designed to allow foreign exchange students to fill seasonal or temporary jobs, such as in ski and beach resort towns.
Businesses in the western North Dakota city of Williston have been relying on the workers to fill fast-food, hotel and other service industry jobs. The students were given one hour of college credit for working but never had to attend regular classes at Williston State.
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