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The Department of Labor has posted an update regarding the processing of H-2B labor certifications granted under the 2008 Final Rule. To read the update, please visit the H-2B Program Page.

As part of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's (OFLC) on-going efforts to increase public engagement, the OFLC will host a webinar on Tuesday, September 13, 2016, designed to educate stakeholders, program users, and other interested members of the public on recent program workload trends, common deficiencies and best practices associated with employer requests for H-2B prevailing wage determinations and applications for temporary labor certification under the H-2A and H-2B visa programs.

U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration OFFICE OF FOREIGN LABOR CERTIFICATION 2015 H-2B Interim Final Rule FAQs   Round 16:  Foreign Labor Recruiter List    1. What is the Foreign Labor Recruiter List?  The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) compiles a list of people and entities that employers have indicated that they engage or plan to engage to carry out the recruitment of prospective H-2B workers (“foreign labor recruiters”).  See 20 CFR 655.9.

 In response to statutory requirements, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will allow up to 12,998 nonimmigrants in fiscal year (FY) 2017 for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program.

ETA is announcing a process change related to the submission of applications for temporary labor certification under the H-2B visa program intended to reduce burdens on employers and streamline the adjudication of temporary need.

USCIS urges prospective H-2B employers seeking to hire potential “returning workers” with employment start dates in fiscal year (FY) 2017 to continue to identify these workers and provide the H-2B Returning Worker Certification.

The Department of Labor has published a seventeenth round of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the filing and processing of H-2B Applications for Temporary Employment Certification covering issues related to the area of intended employment and what constitutes a worksite under the H-2B program. The Round 17 FAQs are posted on the H-2B Interim Final Rule Implementation Page on the Office of Foreign Labor Certification website at https://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/2015_H-2B_IFR.cfm. 

The forms for the H-2B program have been extended temporarily until November 30, 2015 while OFLC awaits approval of its request for a three year extension under review with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OFLC will continue to extend the forms in one month increments until approved by OMB. A second comment period, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, ends November 30, 2015.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 222 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72079-72081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29373]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2011-0108]
RIN 1601-ZA11

Identification of Foreign Countries Whose Nationals Are Eligible
to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Nonimmigrant Worker Programs

The H-2B returning worker provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-113) expired on Sept.

USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H‑2B cap for the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2017. January 10, 2017 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2017.

On June 5, 2015, USCIS will reopen the congressionally mandated fiscal year (FY) 2015 cap and will accept Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting new H-2B workers with an employment start date between April 1 and September 30, 2015.

Why USCIS is Reopening the 2nd half FY 2015 Cap for H-2B Petitions

On June 5, 2015, USCIS announced that it had reopened the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has now received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2015. June 11, 2015 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2015.

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification has updated the following H-2B forms: 1) Form 9142B - General Instructions; 2) Appendix B; 3) Form 9142B, Job Contractor Requirements under the 2015 H-2B Interim Final Rule. To access the forms, please click here.