Client Alert: Plan of Action for Summer-Season H-2B Visa Petitions during the Government Shutdown

Pabian Law Clients,

I hope all is well.  As we start Week 2 of the government shutdown, we want to share our plan of action surrounding work on your H-2B visa petitions for the summer 2026 season.

As a reminder, during a government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) ceases work on all H-2B visa-related work, including reviewing Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) Applications and Applications for Temporary Employment Certification (ETA application) (the application that we work to file 90 days before your start date).  These are the first 2 application steps in the H-2B visa petition process.  Additionally, during a shutdown, we cannot access and/or draft and applications on the DOL websites.  Therefore, government shutdowns have a large impact on H-2B visa petitions – especially those early in the petition process such as summer 2026 petitions.

Despite the shutdown and our inability to file applications with the DOL until the government reopens, we will keep moving forward with your petitions!  Here is Pabian Law’s plan while we are waiting for the government to reopen:

• During the shutdown, we will:
  • Draft and review your H-2B visa Job Descriptions;
  • Request and review your seasonality evidence;
  • Confirm the intended number of H-2B visa workers that you intend to file for in each of your petitions;
  • Request or create your log-in information to access your organization’s State Workforce Agency (SWA) website, allowing us to draft your H-2B visa Job Order; and
  • Confirm whether you are using a recruiter and provide you with reference documents for you and/or your recruiter to use during recruitment; and
  • Continue to provide education and updates.
• Upon the reopening of the government, we will:
  • Draft and file your PWD applications, if they were not drafted and/or filed prior to the shutdown; and
  • Draft your ETA applications upon receipt of Prevailing Wager Determination.

Please note that:

1. Because the H-2B visa petition process timelines all proceed based off of an organization’s start date, the timing of the above actions will differ for Pabian Law’s clients.  For example, clients that have an April 1^st start date will see actions start 6 weeks earlier than those with May 15^th start dates.  Don’t worry if we have not started some of these processes yet if your petitions are post-April 1^st start dates.
2. During the government shutdown, we are unable to look up anticipated Prevailing Wages due to the DOL’s system being down.  If you are concerned about a possible wage for a specific role, the best path forward is to proceed with your petition and discuss the wage once we can look it up when the government reopens.

Very importantly, due to the shutdown, the timelines are going to shrink this fall and we are going to need to move quickly on your applications as soon as the government reopens.  Therefore, here is where we need your help in the weeks and months ahead:

• Provide quick responses, when asked
• Review documents thoroughly, but quickly, when we send them to you
• Meet all deadlines
• Keep asking us questions
• Attend education!  You need to know what is happening!

Regarding education, please make sure to attend (or listen to the records of) our Town Hall webinars, our Office Hours/Q&A Sessions, and our Client Alerts.  These educational offerings cover information that is integral to success at each step of the process.  I am concerned by how many clients were missing from the first two Town Hall webinars of the season.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to move your H-2B visa petitions as far along as possible during the shutdown to allow us to be nimble and quick once the government reopens.  We appreciate all of your help in meeting deadlines and moving quickly with reviews to allow us to make this filing season a success!

Thank you,

Keith and the Pabian Law Team