Elim Church of God v. Hilda Solis

Sometimes, as Delmore Schwartz and Tolian Soran have observed, “time is the fire in which we burn.” The Elim Church of God wanted to employ Romeo Fulga, who was present in the United States on a student visa, as a youth pastor. However, in dreams begin responsibilities and, in order to work at the Church, Fulga was required to obtain an employment-based immigrant visa. As a first step, the Church applied for and received a labor certification from the Department of La bor that was valid indefinitely when issued. Unfortunately, the Church did not immediately proceed with the subsequent steps for Fulga to obtain an employment visa. In the interim, the Department of Labor issued new regulations providing that a labor certification expired after 180 days unless a visa application was filed or, in the case of labor certification holders like the Church, 180 days after the regulation became final. The Church did not act until well after that period. When it did finally act, the Church discovered that its certification had expired.

The Church contends that it was entitled to personal notice and that the regulation had an impermissible retroactive effect. However, we agree with…