March 17, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resumed adjudications of H-2B petitions, but will continue to suspend premium processing until further notice.
Monday, March 16, 2015 the Department of Labor (DOL) filed an unopposed motion to stay the March 4 order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Perez v. Perez until April 15. That order vacated DOL’s H-2B regulations on the grounds that DOL had no authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to issue them.
DHS suspended H-2B adjudications while it reviewed the decision. As stated in the motion, DHS will resume adjudicating H-2B petitions based on temporary labor certifications issued by the Department of Labor.
To fill the regulatory gap, DOL and DHS announced on Friday, March 13, that they intend to issue a joint interim final rule by April 30, 2015.