On April 15, 2015, the day its previous order was due to expire, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida extended its permission for the Department of Labor to process H-2B wage and labor certification applications for another month, through May 15, 2015.

The extension will also allow time for DOL and plaintiffs to respond to a motion to intervene by the Small and Seasonal Business Legal Center, which was filed on April 15, 2015, arguing that suspending the H-2B program will “destroy the . . . livelihoods of the people employed in the small businesses that depend on it.”

As a result of the court’s continued allowance of DOL H-2B processing, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services announced that it will restore premium processing service for I-129 H-2B petitions beginning April 20, 2015, which has been suspended since March 9, 2015.

• USCIS and DOL Suspend H-2B Processing Following Florida Court Order
• DOL and DHS Announce Next Steps for the H-2B Program
• DOL and USCIS Resume H-2B Processing
• DOL Issues FAQs On H-2B Processing After Perez v. Perez