i hope this will clear all of your inquiries:
There are 3 steps to obtaining a Green Card through Employer Sponsorship:
Labor Certification through the PERM process. 60 days.
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. 6-12 months.
I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence. 12-24 months.
PERM is the process for obtaining labor certification, the first step of the green card process for foreign nationals seeking permanent residence through their employment.
To obtain an approved PERM Labor Certification, the employer must prove (through newspaper advertising and other recruiting methods) that they were unsuccessful in recruiting a qualified U.S. worker for a certain position.
A brief summary of PERM:
PERM Application Process
Prevailing Wage to be determined by State Workforce Agencies prior to application filing
Pre-Application recruitment will be required for all applications during the period 30 days to 180 days prior to filing
PERM Applications are to be filed directly with DOL
Applications may be filed either electronically or by mail using Form ETA-9089 – Employers must attest to having met all PERM requirements for the proposed job opportunity
DOL website for completing and submitting the PERM application form
Employers do not submit supporting documentation with the PERM application but must retain supporting documentation for 5 years for audit purposes
No filing fee at this time, but fees may be implemented in the future
PERM Decisions
The DOL Certifying Officer (CO) may approve, deny, require an audit; following an audit, the Certifying Officer may order supervised recruitment (to be administered by the CO instead of the SWA)
No criteria in the regulation for ordering an audit or for ordering supervised recruitment – some applications will be randomly selected for audit
Decisions are expected within 45 to 60 days
Employers will have 30 days to respond to an “Audit Letter;†Certifying Officers may grant a single 30 day extension “for good cause.â€
Failure to respond to an Audit Letter will result in denial of the application, and may result in a finding of fraud or misrepresentation
If the CO determines there was fraud or misrepresentation on an application, the CO may penalize the employer by ordering supervised recruitment for all applications filed by the offending employer for 2 years
The CO may revoke a prior approval at any time after providing notice of intent to revoke – employers will have 30 days to submit a rebuttal; the CO will issue a decision within 30 days of receipt of the employer’s rebuttal evidence
Post-decision Options for Employers
Employers may file a request for reconsideration within 30 days of a denial
Employers may file a request for review by BALCA within 30 days of a denial
No new information may be submitted in support of the application
Prevailing Wage Determinations
State Employment Services Agencies (SESAs), a.k.a. State Workforce Agencies (SWAs), will administer Prevailing Wage Determinations (PWDs)
Employers must pay 100% of the prevailing wage for the position (95% rule eliminated)
New 4-tier system for prevailing wages will replace the existing 2-tier system
Employers may submit alternative wage surveys for consideration by the SESA if conducted within the 24 months prior to the application – weighted averages preferred, but median wage may be used if average wage not available
Prevailing Wage Determinations may be valid for 90 days to 1 year from the date of the determination (discretion of the SESA)
Employers may file supplemental information for consideration following a prevailing wage determination
Employers may appeal a SWA’s PWD to the DOL Certifying Officer; the CO may affirm, modify or remand to the SWA; Employers may appeal a CO’s decision to BALCA
Job Requirements
Job requirements must represent the employer’s actual minimum requirements and that they bear a reasonable relationship to the occupation and are essential to perform the job in a reasonable manner (i.e., based on business necessity)
A foreign language requirement must be accompanied by a justification based on business necessity
Employer must not have hired workers with less training or experience for substantially comparable jobs
Beneficiaries may use experience gained while working for the employer if such experience was gained in a position not substantially comparable to the position for which certification is sought (Delitizer requirements are now part of the regulation)
A “substantially comparable†job or position means a job or position requiring performance of the same job duties more than 50 percent of the time
Employers may be required to provide position descriptions, percentage of time spent on the various duties, organization charts, and payroll records in order to document that they have not hired workers with less training or experience for substantially comparable jobs
Pre-filing Recruitment Requirements for Professional Positions
Job Order placed with SWA for 30 days
Two (2) Sunday print ads must be placed in a newspaper of general circulation in the geographic area of the proposed place of employment between 30 days and 180 days prior to application filing
the employer’s name must appear in the ad
the ad must apprise applicants of the job opportunity
a descriptive job title, name of the employer, and the means to contact the employer may be sufficient
job site identification required where the job site is unclear (e.g., company headquarters is elsewhere, or employer has multiple job sites)
additional information permitted provided the same requirements also appear on the Form ETA 9089
Employers may substitute one national journal ad for one Sunday newspaper ad where the position requires experience and/or an advanced degree
Three additional recruitment steps required – employers may submit documentation of any 3 of the following types of recruitment activities:
job fairs
employer’s website ads
Job search website
On-campus recruiting
Trade or professional organizations
Private employment firms
Employee referral program with incentives
Campus placement offices
Local and ethnic newspapers
Radio and television ads
Pre-filing recruitment requirements do not apply to applications for Schedule A occupations, college or university teachers, and sheepherders
Report of recruitment results must contain:
description of recruitment steps undertaken and results achieved
# of hires
# of U.S. workers rejected, categorized by the lawful job related reasons for rejection
“A U.S. worker is able and qualified for the job opportunity if the worker can acquire the skills necessary to perform the duties involved in the occupation during a reasonable period of on-the-job trainingâ€
Supervised recruitment requirements
CO may order supervised recruitment for any application, whenever appropriate
One ad must be placed in a newspaper of general circulation for 3 consecutive days, one of which must be a Sunday
The CO may require as an alternative an ad placed in a professional, trade, or ethnic publication
Employer must supply a draft ad to the CO for review and approval within 30 days of being notified that supervised recruitment is required – the ad must include the wage offered (a wage range is permissible provided that the lower end of the range is at least as high as the prevailing wage for the position
Extremely detailed recruitment report will be required
Conversion of previously filed applications to PERM
Employers that filed applications under existing regulations may refile the application without loss of the original filing date by (i) submitting an application for an identical job opportunity after complying with all PERM filing and recruitment requirements, and (ii) withdrawing the original application
A job opportunity will be considered identical if the employer, beneficiary, job title, job location, job requirements, and job description are the same as those stated in the original application, including all accepted amendments
The filing of an application under PERM that is identical to an application under existing regulations will be deemed to be a withdrawal of the original application regardless of whether the employer’s request to use the original filing date is approved
Refilings must be made within 210 days of the withdrawal of the prior application
Impact of Layoffs
If there has been a layoff by the employer applicant in the area of intended employment within 6 months of filing an application involving the occupation for which certification is sought or in a related occupation, the employer must document it has notified and considered all potentially qualified laid off (employer applicant) U.S. workers of the job opportunity involved in the application and the results of the notification and consideration
A layoff is defined as any involuntary separation of one or more workers with cause of prejudice; it includes personnel actions characterized by an employer as reductions-in-force, restructuring, or downsizing
A related occupation is any occupation that requires workers to perform a majority of the essential duties involved in the occupation for which certification is sought
Special Provisions for closely held corporations, partnerships, etc.
Employer must provide documentation of the existence of a bona fide job opportunity
Articles of incorporation, partnership agreement, business license or similar documentation
List of all corporate/company officers and shareholders/partners, titles and positions, and description of the relationships to each other and to the beneficiary
Financial history of the corporation/company/partnership, including the total investment in the business entity and the amount of investment of each officer, incorporator/partner and the beneficiary
Name of the business’ official with primary responsibility for interviewing and hiring applicants for positions within the organization
Name of the business’ official with control or influence over hiring decisions involving the position
If the beneficiary is one of 10 or fewer employees, the employer must document any family relationship between the employees and the beneficiary
Special Provisions for University Professors, Nurses and Domestic Workers
University Professors:
Employers must document that the beneficiary was selected through a competitive recruitment and selection process and that the beneficiary was found to be more qualified than any of the U.S. workers who applied for the job
The recruitment report must include total # of applicants and the specific job-related reasons why the beneficiary was more qualified than each U.S. worker who applied for the job
Employers must submit a copy of at least one advertisement placed in a national journal and evidence of all other recruitment sources utilized, and a copy of the final report of the faculty, student, and/or administrative body making the recommendation or selection of the alien at the completion of the competitive recruitment and selection process
Nurses
CGFNS Certificate is required; proof of passing CGFNS nursing skills exam not sufficient – passage of the NCLEX-RN exam may be substituted for the CGFNS Certificate
Temporary licensure in the state of intended employment is no longer sufficient
Domestic Workers
Other special requirements for certification of domestic worker positions
