Public Comment Sought on DHS and DOL Issue Changes to H-2B Visa Program

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) are jointly issuing an interim final rule regarding program changes to the H-2B visa program, which allows employers to hire temporary non-agricultural guest workers.

The rule includes a new employer registration process, increased recruitment and oversight, requirements for guaranteed pay, additional fees, and similar payment for corresponding U.S. workers. These agencies jointly issued this rule due to recent court decisions that found that DOL lacked authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to independently issue legislative rules governing the H-2B program.  

The Department of Labor previously finalized but never implemented a virtually identical rule in a 2012 rulemaking process, and analyzed its impact on small businesses in Initial and Regulatory Flexibility Analyses.

Interim Final Rule are due on June 29, 2015.

• Interim Final Rule.
• Link to the Federal Register Notice [pdf]