The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently confirmed the establishment of a temporary Office of Immigration Policy, aimed at enhancing how DOL administers employment‑based immigration programs.
The new office comes amid growing employer reliance on legal immigration pathways to ensure a "timely, qualified, and stable workforce" through improved visa access as border and interior enforcement has intensified. For businesses reliant on foreign workers on temporary work visas and green card sponsorship, this development signals a step toward expedited and more transparent processing.
Historically, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has long administered foreign worker sponsorship programs such as labor certification applications (PERM) and temporary-worker visas such as H-1B, H-2B and H-2A.Support for the new office has grown due to the increased demand for employment-based visas post-pandemic, as well as DHS's renewed scrutiny of nonimmigrant programs.
The core functions of the new Office of Immigration Policy include:
- Developing customer‑centered policies to streamline visa issuance;
- Coordinating immigration-related work internally across ETA, WHD, ILAB, and externally with USCIS, DHS, and Congress; and,
- Enhancing public and congressional communications on DOL's immigration role.
The DOL's newly‑formed Office of Immigration Policy marks a tactical shift toward a more strategic and user-focused posture on employment-based visas. This change will hopefully provide a more unified DOL voice on processing timelines, demand-side challenges, labor attestations, and wage determinations. The office may also boost responsiveness to congressional queries and reduce backlogs in visa-related adjudications. While operational details remain pending, its formation suggests the DOL will play a more active role in shaping employment-based immigration law.
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