May 23, 2005 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the official guidelines for filing H-2B petitions per the changes mandated by the "Save our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005" enacted on May 11, 2005 (see prior news article dated May 11). The highlights of the new H-2B provisions include:

• The cap for FY 2005 reopens Wednesday May 25, 2005 with an additional 35,000 H-2B numbers for new H-2B workers.
  
• Employers can begin filing new H-2B petitions under the expanded H-2B cap on Wednesday, May 25, 2005.
  
• For both Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006, returning workers who counted against the H-2B annual cap of 66,000 during any one of the past three fiscal years will not count against the total annual allotment. The returning workers must be identified and listed in the H-2B petition.
  
• A $150 Fraud Prevention and Detection fee will apply to each H-2B petition, regardless of the number of beneficiaries, filed for a start date on or after October 1, 2005..
  
• After the annual H-2B limit is reached, H-2B petitions for returning workers may continue to be filed.
  
• Effective October 1, 2005 employers may face penalties of up to $10,000 for misrepresentations made during the H-2B process.
  
• USCIS will accept a copy of the H-2B labor certification in cases where the original H-2B labor certification has been accepted previously by USCIS.

For complete details, please review the official press release here.

BAL Comment: Employers are encouraged to contact their attorney at Berry, Appleman & Leiden should they be interested in further details.