DHS Announces It Will Restart Processing H-2B Visas

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The Department of Homeland Security late Tuesday announced it will restart processing H-2B visas for temporary seasonal workers.

“It looks as if visa requests will be processed for those employers who have received their labor certifications,” said Kristen Fefes, executive director of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado. Fefes said a “decent” number of the group’s members seeking visas had obtained certifications and were just waiting for their hires to get fingerprinted and receive their visas.

Homeland Security froze the visa program this month after the U.S. District Court of Northern Florida ruled that the Department of Labor didn’t have authority to make rules for the program.

On Monday, the labor department asked the court to stay its ruling until April 15, a motion that wasn’t opposed. That will give DHS a narrow window to push through the thousands of H-2B visas now in limbo.

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