The US Department of Labor is creating a temporary Office of Immigration Policy that will focus on employment-based visas, the agency confirmed to Bloomberg Law.
The office will be led by Brian Pasternak, currently the administrator of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification, the DOL said. He will be Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s representative for all immigration-related work within the agency.
The Office of Immigration Policy will specifically be tasked with developing “customer-centered policies” to improve access to work visas. It will also coordinate immigration-related work with other federal agencies and manage communications to Congress and the public.
Chavez-DeRemer outlined the objectives of the office in a June 23 memo to the heads of the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration, Wage and Hour Division, and Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Politico first reported the creation of the new unit.
As the Trump administration tightens enforcement at the border and the interior of the US, she said “employers will increasingly turn to legal pathways – most notably permanent and temporary employment visas under the Secretary’s authority where statutory and regulatory deadlines exist – as a vital option to obtain a timely, qualified, and stable workforce that can help their businesses grow and prosper.”
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