As the Trump administration pushes its “America First” agenda, Colorado’s ski industry looks on nervously, worried that policy shifts could be bad for business.

Representatives with the National Ski Areas Association will be in Washington, D.C., this week to lobby against the president’s reported interest in rolling back the J-1 visa program. State executives plan to tag along; they say the program, which sends foreign students to work temporarily in the U.S., is vital in filling jobs that are otherwise tough to fill on the mountains.

The issue comes into focus as unemployment rates drop around the country, raising the pressure on seasonal companies to find people willing to take short-term work.While landscaping employers, for example, continue to rely on a similar visa program, H-2B, the ski industry has embraced the J-1 visa with its less complicated requirements.

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