The United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, has upheld a United States Department of Labor (DOL) regulation amended to limit the validity of foreign worker labor certificates to 180 days after the regulation had taken effect and only if submitted with a visa petition within that time period. A group of businesses had challenged the regulation, arguing that: (1) the DOL exceeded its authority by creating a rule that regulates immigration, and (2) the regulation itself was unlawfully retroactive because it invalidated previously approved labor certificates that were “valid indefinitely.”

The Seventh Circuit held that the DOL had not exceeded its authority, noting that previous DOL policy was not entirely consistent with federal law requiring that labor certificates only be issued if the DOL could demonstrate that (1) there were insufficient numbers of qualified and available workers for the position and (2) the employment of foreign workers would not adversely impact U.S. workers. The amended regulation, however, fulfilled legislative intent by requiring determinations based on true labor market conditions as well as protecting the interests of U.S. workers.

The court further held that the regulation was not retroactive because it did not create new legal consequences for a past act. The court found that the mere act of applying for a labor certificate was not a final event triggering legal consequences. Moreover, the court reasoned that “indefinite” did not mean “permanent” because the duration was “not clearly fixed.” The court concluded that the DOL addressed the issue of “indefiniteness” by prescribing a validity period for labor certificates.