The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) reminded employers that the filing window for employers of H-2B workers opens on January 1, 2022, to submit Form ETA-9142B, Application for Temporary Employment Certification, requesting work start dates of April 1, 2022 or later. OFLC warned that H-2B applications requesting an April 1, 2022 start date will be denied if they are filed before January 1, 2022.

OFLC said it will randomly order for processing all H-2B applications requesting a work start date of April 1, 2022 that are filed during the initial three calendar days (January 1-3, 2022) using randomization procedures. Each day, from January 2 through January 4, 2022, OFLC will publish on the Foreign Labor Application Gateway System the number of H-2B applications received to date and the total number of requested worker positions on those applications.