labor certification

Labor Certification is one avenue for immigrants to obtain Lawful Permanent Residency. An employer must be willing to act as a sponsor and the U.S. job market needs to be tested to show that there are no qualified U.S. workers available in the area where the position is located.

The labor certification process requires that the US job market be tested through a variety of different advertising modes:

• Newspapers
• Professional Journals
• Internet Ads
• Internal Postings
• State Employment Agencies
• Radio/TV
  

This advertising must take place within a specific time frame (30 days is the shortest time and 180 days is the longest) and meet certain specific requirements to be successful.

• For example, ads older than 180 days are unusable and re-advertising will probably be necessary

The online PERM submission process allows this portion of the labor certification process to move relatively quickly. However, filing for permanent residency through the labor certification will still take many months or years as the processing is very slow and certain categories have large backlogs. The US State Department Visa Bulletin shows just how long the wait is for each category. The backlog times fluctuate greatly over time and should only be used as an estimate.

Under the PERM labor certification regulations there is a good chance that the employer will have the labor certification file audited by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Additionally, after the case is certified by the U.S. Department of Labor the USCIS will also examine the PERM filing in conjunction with the employment based visa petition to determine if it was prepared appropriately. Processing times for this step may span years before the USCIS takes up the case. Therefore, it is very important that the labor certification process be conducted using a competent professional so that the employer will maximize the chance of success.

Please contact our office for further assistance. We are always happy to discuss your specific case with you and we offer a free email or phone consultation.

*not responsible for accuracy of linked content


US Immigration News & Commentary
News, information, and opinion.

USCIS hits H1B cap by justin
Posted on 29 Jan 2011 at 8:07am The USCIS has received enough H1B applications to fill both the Master’s cap and the regular cap. If you are on an H1B and have been counted against the cap in the past six years and have not left for a year then you can transfer employers. If you have not been counted against the [...]

H1B Cap Count FY2011: Only 13600 regular cap and 5800 Master?s cap cases filed. by justin
Posted on 26 Apr 2010 at 9:05am About a month in to the FY2011 H1B season only about a 1/5 of available regular cap visas have been applied for. Master’s cap cases are going a bit faster with almost a 1/3 of the available visas being applied for. The USCIS H1B Numbers can be found here.

H1B filings, LCA problems & Timing by justin
Posted on 11 Mar 2010 at 8:07pm The icert system isn’t great to say the least but to file for an H1B visa you must have an approved LCA. Many employers are not in the system and it can take up to or over a week to find that out, a week to fix it, and a week to get an LCA [...]

H1B Update: H1B visas still available. by justin
Posted on 22 Apr 2009 at 10:51am WASHINGTON?U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced an updated number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program. USCIS has received approximately 44,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap. The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, the agency has received approximately 20,000 petitions for [...]

H1B cap not reached in first 5 business days after April 1. by justin
Posted on 9 Apr 2009 at 6:29am In a trend that tracks the economic realities of the moment the USCIS has announced that they have only received about 1/2 of the number of petitions that would count towards the cap. There will be no lottery for any petition unless it is filed on the day that the USCIS receives enough to meet [...]

USCIS responds to Ombudsman recommendations on slow EAD processing by justin
Posted on 9 Feb 2009 at 9:06am As many of my clients know the EAD process while your getting your green card through family or after your labor certification is approved can be quite slow. Though I’d say it’s not consistently slow as some of my clients receive their EAD cards rather quickly while some never do! The USCIS Ombudsman made some [...]

Cancellation of Removal for Lawful Permanent Residents by justin
Posted on 1 Feb 2009 at 8:58pm At its most basic a request for Cancellation of Removal is simply a plea not to be deported. However, as is always the case, Congress created a few hoops that have to be jumped through before the permanent resident is eligible.

Help! I was on an H1B and I got laid off!!! by justin
Posted on 25 Jan 2009 at 4:57pm It?s pretty clear that the economy is bad with only a few holdouts are denying it at this point. So what to do when you are on an H1B visa and you get laid off? Well first of all don?t panic. You likely have a visa that lasts for years at this point so you [...]

Labor Certification: How to Immigrate to the United States Through Employment by justin
Posted on 25 Jan 2009 at 10:39am A brief look at employment based immigration through the labor certification process.

Microsoft attempting to get H1B visa cap increased or removed by justin
Posted on 4 Apr 2007 at 4:37pm Microsoft corporation and other technology companies are trying to convince congress to raise or remove the H1B visa cap. They’ll likely have more luck getting congress to add some additional visas to the cap than they will have getting congress to eliminate the cap – at least in the short term. The damage being done [...]

H1B visa cap reached by justin
Posted on 4 Apr 2007 at 7:09am The USCIS announced that 150000 H1B visa petitions were received on April 2nd. They will reject H1B visa petitions received after April 3rd (except for the cap exempt petitions) and the petitions received on April 2nd and April 3rd will be subject to a lottery drawing to determine which petitions will receive a visa number. [...]

Lawful Permanent Residents ? Green card holders. Maps of geographic distribut... by justin
Posted on 2 Nov 2006 at 10:11pm Interesting maps showing the distribution of permanent residents and naturalized citizens in the US. here and here.


Justin Randolph - PERM Labor Certification Assistance


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PERM: Employers May Not Seek Highly Qualified Employees by Js
Posted on 16 Jan 2012 at 12:23pm I frequently receive questions about qualifications and requirements stipulated for job opportunities. Often, the Employer wants a highly qualified person with years of experience, education, train...

PERM: The Ghosts of Christmas Past! by Js
Posted on 4 Dec 2011 at 9:27am I call your attention to a Memorandum entitled "Directive: General Administrative Letter No. 1-97," dated October 1, 1996. The Memo was written by Barbara Ann Farmer, then-Administrator for Regiona...

PERM: More about Family Ownership by Js
Posted on 24 Oct 2011 at 5:33am A colleague received a Notice of Intent to Deny an I-140 petition. The DHS states that the underlying labor certification (a pre-PERM case) does not reveal that there may be a family relationship b...

PERM: Challenging Prevailing Wage Requests by Js
Posted on 3 Oct 2011 at 6:26am Now that the prevailihng wage crisis is ending, determinations are being issued and things are getting back to normal -- well almost. Perhaps because of lack of training or need to do PWD's very qu...

PERM: Prevailing Wage Determinations -- Update by Js
Posted on 12 Sep 2011 at 6:51am Please look at the previous Blog entry which discusses some pointers for Employers to deal with the current unavailability of prevailing wages. Employers who must file before obtaining a prevailing...

PERM: Prevailing Wage Determinations Suspended - What to Do? by Js
Posted on 8 Aug 2011 at 2:43pm The temporary suspension of prevailing wages by DOL for PERM cases should not present a serious problem for most Employers, unless the proposed PERM filing is time sensitive to preserve the alien's...

PERM: Is Extra Recruitment and Advertising Permitted? by Js
Posted on 7 Aug 2011 at 6:43pm The question has often arisen whether an Employer may conduct recruitment and advertising beyond the time period required by the PERM regulation. For example, an Employer might want to place more t...

PERM: Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) by Js
Posted on 1 Aug 2011 at 7:40am USIS has announced to the public the existence of the VIBE program. Employers should be aware of the fact that USCIS and DOL may use VIBE and other sources of data to confirm the validity and natur...

PERM: After Denial! by Js
Posted on 26 Jul 2011 at 9:02am Last month, Attorney Mike Nolan hosted the AILA Conference on PERM Denials which provided a summary of procedural issues and substantive developments -- what to do after denial! The panel of AILA a...

PERM: Basics on Educational Requirements by Js
Posted on 16 Jul 2011 at 10:13am Some interesting points emerged from the AILA Conference in San Diego last month. EB 2nd Preference is current for all countries except China and India, which are both backed up to April 2007. EB 3...


Justin Randolph - PERM Labor Certification Assistance