Update! The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Monday, March 16, 2015, that they will jointly write and publish a new rule that will allow the agencies to process H-2B visa cases.
They intend to publish this new rule at least by April 30, 2015. This is extremely fast action considering we are talking about the federal government.
Another Update! The federal district court that voided the 2008 Department of Labor regulations underlying the H-2B seasonal worker visa program has agreed to allow continued processing for a short time so as not to cause undue economic harm to companies that had already begun H-2B visa processing and that rely on H-2B workers. The federal judge wrote in :
Having considered the matter, the Court finds that the requested temporary relief is appropriate to ensure continued operation of the H-2B program.
Accordingly, Defendants’ Unopposed Motion for Limited Relief from the Vacatur Order and Judgment is GRANTED. It is further ordered that the Injunction Order dated March 4, 2015 is STAYED or otherwise held in abeyance until and including April 15, 2015.
This means cases already in the pipeline at the Department of Labor will continue, both at the Department of Labor and by the immigration service, which made an announcement to this effect on Tuesday, March 17, 2015.
As of March 5, 2015, the immigration service has suspended processingof H-2B (seasonal non-agricultural work visa) visa petitions. The suspension of processing follows a Florida federal district judge’s decision to void the 2008 regulations the Department of Labor followed to determine prevailing wages for H-2B labor certification applications. In response to the federal judge’s decision in Perez v. Perez, the Department of Labor stopped processing H-2B prevailing wage determination requests and H-2B temporary labor certifications.
Both the Department of Labor and the immigration service are searching for solutions so that they can continue to process H-2B cases. Many industries in the United States depend on the H-2B visa program to fill temporary, seasonal, peakload, and intermittent labor needs. For example, landscaping companies often use the H-2B program to hire landscapers during the busy spring and summer months when they have not been able to find enough American workers to fill open positions. The H-2B program is used by industries as varied as construction, hospitality, food processing, forestry and restaurants.
Note this suspension of processing does not affect other temporary work visa categories. Seasonal agricultural worker visas (H-2A) are not affected, and H-1B visas for professional workers are likewise not affected as the government continues processing those kinds of cases.