DOL Releases Proposed Changes to H-1B Visas for Companies Placing Migrant Workers

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its proposed changes to the Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA). These changes, if put into place by DOL, could place additional burdens on companies that use H-1B visas to hire and place migrant workers.

Currently, employers merely need to provide the addresses of clients’ worksites at which they intend to place H-1B visa holders. The proposed changes now require employers to provide detailed information about clients and the worksites in which they intend place workers, including the legal business names of the clients, which could violate confidentiality agreements in some cases, and wage rates. Furthermore, employers must provide similar information about worksites at which they have a reasonable expectation of placing workers. Some clients also have expressed concerns about losing a competitive edge to other businesses in their industries, since this detailed information now will be publicly available.

Visa Application

DOL Releases Proposed Changes to H-1B Visas for Companies Placing Migrant Workers

As a result of these changes, DOL anticipates that completing LCAs now will take three times as long, which is burdensome for employers. This is one of the many proposals for policy changes in which the DOL seems to be targeting third-party worksites for increased restrictions. For example, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changed policies to make it more difficult to place foreign students at third-party worksites for certain types of mandatory training. USCIS also now is requiring employers to provide detailed itineraries for H-1B visa petitions that propose work occurring off-site.

DOL’s response is that the changes are necessary to protection both H-1B visa and U.S. employees. The changes, according to the DOL, also are designed to increase transparency into the number of H-1B visa workers placed at various worksites.

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