DHS permits earlier electronic filing of certain H-2A petitions

Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix

CountryUnited States

Operative dateOctober 2, 2025

CategoryWork

Policy toolProcessing

Affected groupH-2a petitioners seeking unnamed beneficiaries who file electronically

Policy effect

DHS finalized a rule amending regulations to allow H-2A petitions requesting unnamed beneficiaries to be filed electronically after the Department of Labor (DOL) issues a notice of acceptance (NOA) and before DOL approves the underlying temporary labor certification (TLC). Petitioners seeking concurrent processing must provide the ETA case number for the underlying TLC application. USCIS will make necessary modifications to the concurrently processed H-2A petition to reflect any modifications made by DOL to the TLC after issuance of the NOA and before certification. The TLC must be approved by DOL before USCIS may approve the H-2A petition. If the H-2A petition is filed before DOL issues a notice of acceptance, or if DOL denies the application for temporary agricultural labor certification, USCIS will deny the H-2A petition.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: DHS finalized a rule amending regulations to allow H-2A petitions requesting unnamed beneficiaries to be filed electronically after the Department of Labor (DOL) issues a notice of acceptance (NOA) and before DOL approves the underlying temporary labor certification (TLC).; Petitioners seeking concurrent processing must provide the ETA case number for the underlying TLC application.; USCIS will make necessary modifications to the concurrently processed H-2A petition to reflect any modifications made by DOL to the TLC after issuance of the NOA and before certification.; The TLC must be approved by DOL before USCIS may approve the H-2A petition.; If the H-2A petition is filed before DOL issues a notice of acceptance, or if DOL denies the application for temporary agricultural labor certification, USCIS will deny the H-2A petition.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

An H-2A petition requesting unnamed beneficiaries may be filed electronically after DOL issues a notice of acceptance and before DOL approves the underlying application for temporary agricultural labor certification. … DATES: This final rule is effective on October 2, 2025. … when an H-2A petitioner electronically files a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker requesting unnamed beneficiaries. … Petitioners seeking concurrent processing under this rule must provide on the H-2A petition the ETA case number for the underlying TLC application … If applicable, USCIS will make necessary modifications to the concurrently processed H-2A petition to reflect any modifications made by DOL to the application for temporary agricultural labor certification after issuance of the notice of acceptance and before certification. The temporary agricultural labor certification must be approved by DOL before USCIS may approve the H-2A petition, provided that all other statutory and regulatory requirements are met. If the H-2A petition is filed before DOL issues a notice of acceptance, or if DOL denies the application for temporary agricultural labor certification, USCIS will deny the H-2A petition.

govinfo.govOpen official source

Retrieved from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-10-02/html/2025-19235.htm

Review method

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite extraction with independent Gemini 3.8 Flash verification

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DHS permits earlier electronic filing of certain H-2A petitions

Policy effect

Conditions and exceptions

Official source excerpt

Review method

Other United States changes operative in 2025