It is an insult to every working family in Billings that the Boys and Girls Club of Yellowstone County is pursuing visa sponsorship for a leadership role instead of hiring a Montanan.
The facts are simple: They filed an H-1B labor-condition application for a Program Director with a salary of $49,254. The national median for the occupational category they selected—Social and Community Service Managers—is $80,390. That is nearly 40% below the national median.
Before anyone calls this a shortage of “qualified” candidates, show us the recruitment. Offering a salary that far below the national occupational median raises an obvious question: Is there a worker shortage, or an unwillingness to offer pay that would attract a local professional? Most H-1B employers aren’t required to recruit Americans first.
This is a position that serves our children. The community deserves to know why a local organization is pursuing visa sponsorship rather than hiring someone already living and working in this county.
While this is happening on the ground, Governor Greg Gianforte is traveling to India to promote business partnerships and opportunities “both here in India and back in the United States.” Where is the push to recruit and train Montanans for jobs in their own communities?
The Boys and Girls Club owes us an explanation. Who applied for this job? Where was it advertised? And why should “community service” mean bypassing the local community rather than giving its workers a fair shot?
Our children deserve leaders invested in our town, and our workers deserve a fair shot at their own local economy.
Source for the filing: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, case I-200-25315-398483, filed November 11, 2025, and certified November 18, 2025. Offered salary: $49,254 annually; requested employment period: January 19, 2026–January 18, 2029. Record supplied above.