Dear Colleagues,
By now you may have heard the good news that a federal district court in California has set aside the Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations in response to a lawsuit filed by the US Chamber of Commerce. The lawsuit challenged the government’s October 8, 2020 release of DOL and DHS companion rules targeting employment-based immigration, and particularly the H-1B program. While this appears to be a positive step, we should still be cautious when moving forward with filing H-1B petitions.
The ruling is subject to possible speedy appeal by both the DHS and DOL, and there is always the possibility of the rules being reissued but following the established procedure; non-compliance with this procedure was the basis of this suit. In addition, neither DHS nor DOL have issued implementation guidance based upon this ruling. In fact, the DOL has not updated its FLAG System to reflect lower wages, the system in which Scholar Services submits Labor Condition Applications for certification. We cannot make use of the previous, lower prevailing wages until said updates are made. Moreover, there are two pending suits in this matter that may affect the final outcome and this remains to be seen.
Our procedures will remain the same in using alternate prevailing wage surveys when necessary, and continuing to explore all possible strategies when filing H-1B petitions. As the situation continues to evolve, we will keep departments updated.
If an issue occurs with a specific case that Scholar Services is working on, we will notify the department and advise accordingly. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience as we all navigate these ever-changing times. As always, if you have any questions please email us at ogs.scholars@nyu.edu.
Sincerely,
Ingrid La Grasta-Khovova and the Team at International Faculty and Research Scholar Services
Office of Global Services