USCIS Announcement - USCIS Temporarily Suspends Adjudication of H-2B Petitions Following Court Order plus DOL Guidance

This is an attempt to pull some of the information and announcements together.

USCIS Announcement:

 

As of March 5, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is temporarily suspending adjudication of Form I-129 H-2B petitions for temporary non-agricultural workers while the government considers the appropriate response to the court order entered March 4, 2015, in Perez v. Perez, No. 3:14-cv-682 (N.D. Florida, Mar. 4, 2015).

Due to this decision, starting March 4, the Department of Labor (DOL) is no longer accepting or processing requests for prevailing wage determinations or applications for temporary labor certifications in the H-2B program. DOL is considering its options in light of the court’s decision. (See below or DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification for more details.)

Because H-2B petitions require temporary labor certifications issued by DOL, USCIS has also temporarily suspended adjudication of H-2B petitions. USCIS will continue adjudicating H-2B petitions for non-agricultural temporary workers on Guam if the petitions are accompanied by temporary labor certifications issued by the Guam Department of Labor.

Starting March 6, 2015, USCIS has also suspended premium processing for all H-2B petitions until further notice. If a petitioner has already filed H-2B petitions using the premium processing service and the agency did not act on the case within the 15-calendar-day period, USCIS will issue a refund.

You can check www.uscis.gov for updates.


Department of Labor Guidance: 

March 4, 2015.

On March 4, 2015, the federal district court in the Northern District of Florida vacated the Department of Labor‘s (DOL) 2008 H-2B regulations on the ground that DOL lacks authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to issue regulations in the H-2B program. Perez v. Perez, No. 3:14-cv-682 (N.D. Florida, Mar. 4, 2015). Because of this decision, effective immediately, DOL can no longer accept or process requests for prevailing wage determinations or applications for labor certification in the H-2B program. DOL is considering its options in light of the court‘s decision.

March 2, 2015. 

 FAQs regarding CATA v. Perez and employer-provided surveys in the H-2B program

The Department is making available Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding its implementation of the court's decision in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA) v. Perez, 774 F.3d 173, 191 (3d Cir. 2014). Following the court's decision, the Department ceased issuing prevailing wage determinations in the H-2B program based on employer-provided wage surveys. In addition, the Department can no longer issue H-2B temporary employment certifications based on employer-provided wage surveys. The FAQs may be accessed - http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdf/cata_perez.pdf

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