Requests for Injunctive Relief of Recent DOL and DHS H-1B Rules Filed
October 20, 2020
On behalf of seventeen individual and organizational plaintiffs, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and its Board of Governors have filed a complaint seeking to enjoin the recent DOL wage rule. The new prevailing wages went into effect with one business day warning on October 8, and affect all H-1Bs and PERM labor certification applications.
Separately, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and other organizations have filed a complaint against both the DOL wage rule and the DHS H-1B rule, which we described in our earlier post.
According to AILA, the “poorly-drafted, improperly-issued [DOL wage] rule did not comply with the procedural rules for rule-making and is substantively arbitrary, incorrect, and irrational.” Jesse Bless, AILA’s Director of Federal Litigation stated, “Standing alone, the failure of the government to provide the proper notice and opportunity for comment before making such dramatic changes, requires an immediate relief for plaintiffs. But the arguments against this rule stretch far beyond its unlawful implementation. The increase to the prevailing wages will manifestly not benefit U.S. economic growth or any workers; study after study has shown that H-1B visa holders create American jobs. The regulation has caused immediate and unnecessary harm in every corner of our economy, including academic institutions, nonprofits, hospitals, start-ups, and small businesses. Frankly, the last thing we need during a pandemic and economic turmoil is a rule based on a false and incorrect understanding of the market and American workforce. This will impede our economic recovery, not enhance it.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce complaint stated “[T]hese rules are extraordinary: If left unchecked, they would sever the employment relationship of hundreds of thousands of existing employees in the United States, and they would virtually foreclose the hiring of new individuals via the H-1B program. They would also gut EB-2 and EB-3 immigrant visas, which provide for employment-based permanent residence in the United States.”
We will post updates on these requests for injunctive relief on our website.
