The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- United States (H-2A employers and workers)
- Level
- Federal
- Authority
- INA §§ 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 214(c); 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h); 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(B) (good cause)
- Issued
- 2020-04-20 Apr. 20, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-04-20 through 2020-08-18 (read as 2020-04-20)
- End
- 2020-08-18 (partially extended by 85 Fed. Reg. 51304, Ex. FED-322) (read as 2020-08-18)
- In force
- Apr. 20, 2020 to Aug. 18, 2020
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Supply chainOther
- Addressees
- H-2A petitioners (agricultural employers)
- H-2A workers in the United States
- Functions reached
- LB farm labor supply
- FP harvest and packing
- SC food supply chain
- Collection
- Federal commerce, travel, workplace and finance layer FED-B
Operative words
DATES: This final rule is effective from April 20, 2020 through August 18, 2020. [The rule permits H-2A workers already in the United States to begin work with a new petitioning employer upon filing, and temporarily lifts the three-year maximum period of stay, 'as a result of disruptions and uncertainty to the U.S. food agriculture sector' caused by the COVID-19 national emergency and the suspension of routine visa services.]
Enforcement
USCIS petition adjudication; 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)
Notes
The Department's own premise for the rule is that the consular suspension and the entry restrictions disrupted the agricultural labor supply; the rule is a federal instrument regulating the commerce in farm labor for 2020 Q2 and Q3.
Retrieval noteDATES caption quoted; the bracketed summary states the rule's operative provisions from its text.