Judge Tosses Out Administration’s H-1B Visa Rules

ACEC News / Advocacy

December 2, 2020

Judge Tosses Out Administration’s H-1B Visa Rules

A federal judge has thrown out the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security H-1B visa rules issued in September. The Administration could choose to appeal the ruling.

In September, the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security issued three rules designed to limit the use of H-1B visas.  The rules would:

• Substantially increase the prevailing wage rates that must be paid to H-1B visa holders
• Narrow the definition of ‘specialty occupations’ that are eligible for H-1B visas
• Eliminate the H-1B visa lottery and instead allocate the visas starting with the highest-paying jobs

ACEC submitted comments in opposition to the rules, and a number of organizations filed lawsuits to block the rules.

Although the incoming Biden Administration has significantly different views on a variety of immigration policies, such as DACA and asylum, there are mixed signals on H-1B visas.  President-elect Biden supports increasing the number of H-1B visas, which ACEC has advocated for years. There are also indications that the incoming Administration may support higher prevailing wages for H-1B visa holders.

ACEC will engage with the Biden Administration on H-1B visa policy to ensure that engineering firms have access to the talent they need.

All comments to blog posts will be moderated by ACEC staff.