Visa Policy for Staffing Companies Deemed Invalid by Court

A recent federal policy for employers that place H-1B skilled guestworkers at third-party worksites can’t be enforced, a federal court ruled.

Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Tuesday that a February policy memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services didn’t go through proper rulemaking procedure, and that the agency’s interpretation of the “employer-employee relationship” requirement is inconsistent with its regulation.

The policy in question required staffing companies that place their H-1B workers at third-party sites to list all sites where the visa holder would work for the visa’s entire three-year term. ...