Attorneys for the DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation filed the dismissal motion in the District Court of Guam and contend none of the plaintiffs can establish standing to continue with the litigation.
In 2016, the Guam Contractors Association and nearly a dozen businesses sued the federal government for denying nearly all petitions to hire H-2B workers for the island, when H-2B petitions under the same set of facts were approved in the past.
Employers were able to get approvals for their H-2B petitions again in 2018.
According to the DOJ, a number of the concerns of denials are now a moot issue after Congress enacted and reauthorized provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act that specifically exempted H-2B petitions filed by military contractors and sub-contractors from having to demonstrate the “temporary need” requirement.
The U.S. government attorneys said none of the plaintiffs are “presently suffering any injury” and thar U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did approve H-2B petitions in April and May.
