Effective March 22, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is temporarily suspending adjudication of most Form I-129 H-2B petitions for temporary non-agricultural workers while the government considers appropriate action in response to the Court order entered March 21, 2013 in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas et al v. Solis, 2:09-cv-00240-LDD (E.D. Pa). That order granted a permanent injunction against the operation of the portion of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2008 wage rule related to certain prevailing wage determinations and gave DOL 30 days to come into compliance with the Court order.
Premium processing of H-2B petitions will be suspended until further notice. Petitioners who have already filed an H-2B petition using the premium processing service and receive no agency action on their case within the 15 calendar day period will be issued a refund.
The Department of Labor intends to promulgate a revised wage rule within 30 days of the date of the Court order. This will allow USCIS to resume adjudication of all H-2B petitions.
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