Trucking company with compliance troubles wins H-2B visas after pause

A Texas logistics company received several H-2B visas for truck drivers. This came one month after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a pause on worker visas for truckers.

On Sept. 30, the Department of Labor’s Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals approved San Antonio, Texas-based JAV Logistics’ application for 23 H-2B truck drivers. Administrative Law Judge Lauren Boucher’s decision overturned a previous denial from August.

JAV Logistics applied for these H-2B visas in July. The company stated it needed extra drivers after acquiring more trucks and commitments to partners from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15.

The application was based on peakload needs. Federal regulations require JAV Logistics to show that it regularly employs permanent workers and needs temporary staff due to short-term demand. The company had to prove that these temporary positions wouldn’t become permanent.

JAV Logistics submitted payroll, delivery and sales reports for the last two years. It also included letters of intent and a corrected job order. Historic payrolls showed a decline in hours in October and November. Deliveries were high in August and sales peaked in September and March, all outside the requested window.

In August, the H-2B application was denied. The certifying officer noted a lack of historical short-term needs based on the submitted documents.

This aligned with JAV Logistics’ own statement that its busy season runs from February to late summer or early fall.

JAV Logistics’ appealed, noting it satisfied all regulatory requirements and will lose the workload if cannot obtain the H-2B visas. Judge Boucher agreed.

Boucher ruled that a company only needs to show present labor needs, not historical ones. JAV Logistics regularly employs 43 truck drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Letters of intent confirmed a short-term need for six weeks. The company acknowledged a slow season from December to February, indicating no need for H-2B drivers after Nov. 15. This was enough to grant the application.

English-language proficiency and visa pause

JAV Logistics’ H-2B visas were granted amid federal government scrutiny and beefed up oversight of non-domestic truck drivers.

On Aug. 21, Secretary Rubio announced on social media that the U.S. will be “pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.”

“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio said.

Effective immediately we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 21, 2025

The Department of State could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to FMCSA, JAV Logistics has been issued seven English language proficiency violations from March 2024 through Sept. 26. The last two violations came this September and resulted in an out-of-service order. Those violations occurred in Arizona and Arkansas.

A violation on June 2 in Virginia did not result in an out-of-service order. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance did not set English-proficiency violations as an out-of-service criterion until June 25.

In one case last September, both a JAV Logistics driver and co-driver failed English-proficiency requirements. LL

Land Line Senior Editor Mark Schremmer contributed to this story.