(a) Attestations shall be submitted, by U.S. mail, private carrier, or facsimile transmission to the U.S. Department of Labor regional office of the Employment and Training Administration in Seattle, Washington. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, attestations shall be received and date-stamped by the Department at least 30 calendar days prior to the date of the first performance of the longshore activity. The attestation shall be accepted for filing or returned by ETA in accordance with §655.538 within 14 calendar days of the date received by ETA. An attestation which is accepted by ETA solely because it was not reviewed within 14 days is subject to subsequent invalidation pursuant to §655.540 of this part. An employer filing an attestation shall have an agent or representative with a United States address. Such address shall be clearly indicated on the Form ETA 9033-A. In order to ensure that an attestation has been accepted for filing prior to the date of the first performance of the longshore activity, employers are advised to take mailing time into account to make sure that ETA receives the attestation at least 30 days prior to the first performance of the longshore activity.

(b) Late filings. ETA may accept for filing attestations received after the 30-day deadline where the employer could not have reasonably anticipated the need to file an attestation for the particular location at that time. When an employer states that it could not have reasonably anticipated the need to file the attestation at that time, it shall submit documentation to ETA to support such a claim. ETA shall then make a determination on the validity of the claim and shall accept the attestation for filing or return it in accordance with §655.538 of this part. ETA in no case shall accept an attestation received less than 24 hours prior to the first performance of the activity.