Pabian Law Winter-Season Clients,
I hope all is well. Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) completed initial processing of the approximately 50,000 cases for employers with October 1st start dates and has begun processing applications for cases with mid-October start dates. The DOL is currently on pace with last year’s processing times. This is great news, as our winter-season clients who met H-2B visa deadlines were able to have their workers starting in time for their seasonal start dates!
While it is good news that the DOL’s processing times are consistent with last year’s, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to lack transparency and has not updated the H-2B visa cap count yet. This means that it will still be some time before we will have clarity on the likelihood of employers with Group B lottery assignments and those with start dates after October 1st making the H-2B visa cap and being able to file for out-of-country workers.
Please let us know if you have any questions. We will continue to keep you updated as we receive updates on the H-2B visa cap.
Thank you,
Keith and the Pabian Law Team