DOL Holds H-2B Briefings, Releases Filing Tips
In early May, the Department of Labor (DOL) held two national briefing sessions in Chicago and Atlanta to discuss recently updated guidance for State Workforce Agencies and ETA National Processing Centers (NPCs) when processing H-2B labor condition applications in nonagricultural occupations. The purpose of the briefing sessions was to inform the user community of the processing protocols implemented at the NPCs in Chicago and Atlanta. To ensure that all employers are aware of the filing requirements, and to ensure that applications for H-2B visas are processed in the most efficient manner, the DOL has released filing tips for employers submitting H-2B applications.
The DOL also has released updated guidance for State Workforce Agencies and ETA National Processing Centers when processing H-2B labor condition applications in nonagricultural occupations. The guidance replaces and supersedes previous operating procedures issued under General Administrative Letter (GAL) 01-95, GAL 01-95, Change 1, and Field Memorandum (FM) 25-98. The DOL said that the guidance is intended to work in concert with the new centralized filing process at the NPCs to ensure greater consistency in the processing of H-2B applications. Special handling procedures for certain nonagricultural occupations, such as forestry workers and boilermakers, will be issued through separate guidance letters by the National Office of Foreign Labor Certification.
