Another Trump Administration Anti-Immigration Rule Struck Down

This is an update to our October 21st Article.  

On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, a George W. Bush appointee, struck down new rules the Trump administration announced in October which significantly increased the required salary for H-1B and PERM (labor certification) cases.  Judge White ruled that the administration failed to properly follow transparency procedures and that its claims that the changes were an emergency response to the pandemic’s economic fallout were unsubstantiated since the October rule was implemented after months of speculation. 

Although the Trump administration’s new rules can no longer be enforced, the Department of Labor Office has not responded to questions such as how quickly prevailing wage will return to pre-October levels for LCA submissions and whether DOL will reissue prevailing wage determinations made between 10/08/20 and 12/01/20.  DOL has only indicated that it will be issuing a public notice addressing such issues.