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Fiscal Year 2010 H-1B Cap Count

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would allow H-2A workers in the sheepherding industry more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation of stay requirements under the agency’s final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009.  USCIS is making the one-time accommodation in deference to the industry’s prior exemption from the 3-year limitation.  This exemption does not impact other H-2A categories.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  reopened the fiscal year 2009 H-2B petition filing period and will immediately accept new H-2B petitions. Although on Jan. 7, 2009, USCIS announced it accepted and approved a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated annual cap of 66,000, the Department of State received far fewer than expected requests for H-2B visas and as a result, has issued only 40,640 H-2B visas for fiscal year 2009 to date. This means that there are approximately 25,000 visas that may go unused, as they have not been granted.

As of August 7, 2009, approximately 44,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

USCIS has received 8,974 H-2B petitions for the first half of FY 2010. It has approved 8,183 and 791 are pending.

As of August 14, 2009, approximately 45,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

USCIS has received 8,974 H-2B petitions for the first half of FY 2010. It has approved 8,183 and 791 are pending.

DOL Announcemes of Public Briefings on Using the New H-2B Temporary Labor Certification Process for Occupations Other Than Agriculture or Registered Nursing. For detail please check federal notice below:

[Federal Register: August 21, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 161)]

[Notices]

[Page 42331]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr21au09-99]



[[Page 42331]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announces the postponement of the commencement date of the H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot, originally set for August 1, 2009.  The pilot program will require temporary workers within H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant classifications that enter the United States at either the port of San Luis, Arizona or the port of Douglas, Arizona, to depart from one of those ports and to submit certain biographical and biometric information at one of the kiosks established for this purpose.

The DOL released a memo to regional administrators and district directors regarding travel and visa expenses of H-2B workers under FLSA minimum wage laws. In January 2009, the Department ofHomeland Security delegated to Wage and Hour enforcement authority to ensure that H-2B workers are employed in compliance with the H-2B labor certification requirements. Wage and Hour issued regulations implementing this authority, 29 C.F.R. Part 655, which became effective on January 18,2009. Those regulations are applicable to applications for certifications filed on or after that date.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would like to clarify to associations and their members certain regulatory requirements for filing petitions for H-2B classification on behalf of foreign workers. We are issuing this clarification so that the public can be better informed of filing requirements and avoid unnecessary denials of individual petitions that may be otherwise approvable. We have noticed a particular type of filing error in many H-2B petitions filed by certain associations on behalf of their members.

An advance copy of technical changes contains a correction to the H-2B labor certification process. To be published in the Federal Register September 3, 2009.
The Final Rule re-engineers the application filing and review process by centralizing processing and by enabling employers to conduct pre-filing recruitment of United States (U.S.) workers.

The Department has published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States. The Department is accepting comments on the proposed rulemaking until October 5, 2009.

To read the full text of the NPRM and to find out about the submission of comments, please check attachment.

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19019-19021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07201]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of
Aliens in Agriculture in the United States: Prevailing Wage Rates for

Release Date 

01/24/2024

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced an update to its Policy Manual providing that USCIS, in discretion and under certain conditions, may excuse a nonimmigrant’s failure to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or petitioner.

The Department has posted the second round of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) interpreting the 2010 Final Rule which became effective on March 15, 2010. The FAQs address questions posed by the regulated community and cover a range of topics including: pre and post-filing requirements, job offers, assurances and obligations, time frames, recruitment, etc. To view the Round 2 H-2A FAQs, please check attachment.

On August 30, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Comitè de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA) v. Solis, et al., Civil No. 2:09-cv-240-LP, 2010 WL 3431761 (E.D. Pa.) invalidated the Department's use of skill levels in establishing prevailing wages and the Department's reliance upon Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) data in lieu of Davis Bacon Act and Service Contract Act rates.

The Department has published in the Federal Register a Final Rule on the Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-agricultural Employment in the H-2B Program. The Final Rule revises the methodology by which the Department calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and U.S. workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification. The Final Rule is effective for wages paid for all work performed on or after January 1, 2012.