The Department of Homeland Security announced that on May 14, 2020, a new temporary rule will go into effect giving employers in the food processing industry more flexibility to hire H-2B workers who are essential to maintaining the food supply chain.

Work essential to the food supply chain includes, but is not limited to, work related to:

• Processing, manufacturing, and packaging of human and animal food;
• Transporting human and animal food from farms, or manufacturing or processing plants, to distributors and end sellers; and
• Selling of human and animal food through a variety of sellers or retail establishments, including restaurants.

Recognizing the need to keep the food supply operating, DHS is doing for some H-2B employers what it previously did for agricultural employers who rely on H-2A workers.

Until at least September 11, 2020:

• Workers in the U.S. in valid H-2B status may start working for new employers while the new employers’ petitions are pending with USCIS;
• The temporary employment authorization will last for up to 60 days or until the start date of the petition, whichever is later;
• The employer must attest that the work performed will be temporary and essential to the U.S. food supply chain; and
• The Department of Labor must have acknowledged receipt of a labor certification from the employer for the position.

The new rule will also allow H-2B workers who are essential to the U.S. food supply chain to work and stay in the U.S. beyond the usual three-year time limit. Without this dispensation, H-2B workers would have to leave the U.S. for at least three months before returning.

H-2B visas are for temporary, seasonal, non-agricultural workers and are used primarily in the tourist, hospitality, landscaping, and construction industries. Early in 2020, demand for H-2B visas was very high. The 33,000 visas available for the spring/summer period ran out as soon as they became available. Congress authorized DHS to make more H-2B visas available, but in April, DHS announced that extra H-2B visas had been put on hold because of skyrocketing unemployment claims in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the Administration’s growing concern about the U.S. food supply chain, flexibility has become necessary.