DHS and DOL Issue H-2B Rules

The H-2B program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs.

As previously reported, Departments of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had been working on issuing new regulations in the aftermath of a decision by the Northern District of Florida that vacated DOL’s 2008 H-2B regulations.

On April 29, 2015, DOL and DHS jointly published an interim final rule and a final rule governing the H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural Labor Certification Program. The interim final rule establishes the process by which employers obtain a temporary labor certification from DOL for use in petitioning DHS to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H–2B status. It also provides for increased worker protections for both United States and foreign workers. The companion final rule governs the methodology to set the prevailing wage in the H–2B program.

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