Yesterday, President Biden signed 20 new Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations overnight. Among them is a Regulatory Freeze Pending Review Memo that directs 1) rules still pending at the Federal Register and not yet published must be immediately withdrawn, and 2) effective dates of rules that were published on the Federal Register but are not yet effective be postponed for 60 days.
According to the memorandum, regulations that have been issued, but have yet to take effect, will be postponed for 60 days from the date of signing the memorandum (January 20, 2021). During this 60-day postponement period, the 30-day public comment period must be reopened to accept public comments. If the regulations raise substantial questions, the regulations will have to be submitted for further consultation.
This includes a number of recently published immigration regulations, including DHS’ H-1B cap allocation final rule, and DOL’s prevailing wage final rule.
It is not yet clear whether the Biden Administration will postpone these regulations beyond FY 2022 cap season. ALG is closely monitoring developments affecting the H-1B cap and will provide updates as more information becomes available.
Comments