Facilitating Earlier Filing of Certain Electronically Submitted H-2A Petitions

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Homeland Security 8 CFR Part 214 [CIS No. 2832-25; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0238] RIN 1615-AD04 AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This final rule amends DHS regulations to modify the timing of when USCIS must receive a valid temporary labor certification when an H-2A petitioner electronically files a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker requesting unnamed beneficiaries. DATES: This final rule is effective on October 2, 2025. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Business and Foreign Workers Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone 240-721-3000 (not a toll-free call). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, establishes the H-2A nonimmigrant classification for a temporary worker “having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning who is coming temporarily to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services . . . of a temporary or seasonal nature.” INA section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) . Employers must petition the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), for classification of prospective temporary workers as H-2A nonimmigrants. INA sec…