(a) Area of intended employment.

(1) Prior to filing an Application for Temporary Employment Certification, the employer must submit a job order, Form ETA-790, to the SWA serving the area of intended employment for intrastate clearance, identifying it as a job order to be placed in connection with a future Application for Temporary Employment Certification for H-2A workers. The employer must submit this job order no more than 75 calendar days and no fewer than 60 calendar days before the date of need. If the job opportunity is located in more than one State within the same area of intended employment, the employer may submit a job order to any one of the SWAs having jurisdiction over the anticipated worksites.

(2) Where the job order is being placed in connection with a future master application to be filed by an association of agricultural employers as a joint employer, the association may submit a single job order to be placed in the name of the association on behalf of all employers that will be duly named on the Application for Temporary Employment Certification.

(3) The job order submitted to the SWA must satisfy the requirements for agricultural clearance orders in 20 CFR part 653, subpart F and the requirements set forth in §655.122.

(b) SWA review.

(1) The SWA will review the contents of the job order for compliance with the requirements specified in 20 CFR part 653, subpart F and this subpart, and will work with the employer to address any noted deficiencies. The SWA must notify the employer in writing of any deficiencies in its job order no later than 7 calendar days after it has been submitted. The SWA notification will direct the employer to respond to the noted deficiencies. The employer must respond to the deficiencies noted by the SWA within 5 calendar days after receipt of the SWA notification. The SWA must respond to the employer's response within 3 calendar days.

(2) If, after providing responses to the deficiencies noted by the SWA, the employer is not able to resolve the deficiencies with the SWA, the employer may file an Application for Temporary Employment Certification pursuant to the emergency filing procedures contained in §655.134, with a statement describing the nature of the dispute and demonstrating compliance with its requirements under this section. In the event the SWA does not respond within the stated timelines, the employer may use the emergency filing procedures noted above. If upon review of the Application for Temporary Employment Certification and the job order and all other relevant information, the CO concludes that the job order is acceptable, the CO will direct the SWA to place the job order into intrastate and interstate clearance and otherwise process the Application in accordance with the procedures contained in §655.134(c). If the CO determines the job order is not acceptable, the CO will issue a Notice of Deficiency to the employer under §655.143 of this subpart directing the employer to modify the job order pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section The Notice of Deficiency will offer the employer the right to appeal.

(c) Intrastate clearance. Upon its clearance of the job order, the SWA must promptly place the job order in intrastate clearance and commence recruitment of U.S. workers. Where the employer's job order references an area of intended employment which falls within the jurisdiction of more than one SWA, the originating SWA will also forward a copy of the approved job order to the other SWAs serving the area of intended employment.

(d) Duration of job order posting. The SWA must keep the job order on its active file until the end of the recruitment period, as set forth in §655.135(d), and must refer each U.S. worker who applies (or on whose behalf an Application for Temporary Employment Certification is made) for the job opportunity.

(e) Modifications to the job order.

(1) Prior to the issuance of the final determination, the CO may require modifications to the job order when the CO determines that the offer of employment does not contain all the minimum benefits, wages, and working condition provisions. Such modifications must be made or certification will be denied pursuant to §655.164 of this subpart.

(2) The employer may request a modification of the job order, Form ETA-790, prior to the submission of an Application for Temporary Employment Certification. However, the employer may not reject referrals against the job order based upon a failure on the part of the applicant to meet the amended criteria, if such referral was made prior to the amendment of the job order. The employer may not amend the job order on or after the date of filing an Application for Temporary Employment Certification.

(3) The employer must provide all workers recruited in connection with the Application for Temporary Employment Certification with a copy of the modified job order or work contract which reflects the amended terms and conditions, on the first day of employment, in accordance with §655.122(q), or as soon as practicable, whichever comes first.