BREAKING: DHS resumes H-2B application processing, premium still unavailable

Tuesday evening, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced H-2B petitions would resume. Premium processing is still suspended. This means workers who need temporary visas cannot get 15-day expedited service. The normal processing time for applications is 60 to 120 days.

This change comes several hours after the Labor, Health and Human Services committee reprimanded Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez for “misinterpreting” the Florida court ruling vacating the Department of Labor’s (DOL) H-2B regulations. Perez didn’t give a date for a final, long-term solution.