Pabian Law Winter-Season Clients,
We are sharing an important update that came to light over the weekend following Friday’s announcement of this year’s H-2B visa cap relief. Our explanation of Friday’s announcement is in the email chain below.
Over the weekend, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) clarified that supplemental visas are available for ALL winter-season organizations, regardless of start dates. As background, USCIS has always mandated that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certification start date must match the petition start date. For example, if your DOL certification start date is approved for December 1st, then the USCIS petition must have a December 1st start date. With Friday’s initial news, that would have meant that organizations with start dates between October 1st and December 31st would not have been filed under cap relief. However, on USCIS’ webpage on cap relief that went live over the weekend, the agency wrote:
“Generally, the employment start date listed on an H-2B petition must be the same as the employment start date authorized on the TLC. See 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(iv)(D). Petitions with employment start dates that do NOT match the TLC’s employment start date will be rejected and returned with fees. However, for purposes of this H-2B cap increase, petitioners may use TLCs that list an employment start date that has passed if the TLC is otherwise valid. We may deny or reject a petition submitted without the required attestation.”
This change opens the door for us to file cap relief petitions for any winter-season organization as early as this week.
In order to qualify for cap relief, you need to have an approved Temporary Labor Certification (TLC) from the DOL and have open (unused) spots left on that certification.
Importantly, if you file a supplemental cap petition this week, you would likely not see workers arrive until sometime in early- or mid-March depending on embassy and consulate delays. The H-2B visa workers would only be able to stay until the end date of your H-2B visa winter season that is listed on your approved TLC.
If you are interested in filing any supplemental (cap relief) H-2B visa petitions, or have any questions, please let us know as soon as possible this week. We expect to be able to file the first petitions as early as tomorrow (Tuesday) and it is imperative that we file quickly to avoid any risks of the government running out of winter-season supplemental visas.
Thank you,
Keith and the Pabian Law Team