PERM Labor Certification
PERM Labor Certification is required when an employee seeks for a permanent employment from a US based company. Though there are temporary visas like H-1B, L-1 and TN status which may serve the same purpose with an exception that they are only meant for a particular span of time. For a permanent resident status it is mandatory to have a green card. The process of getting a green card is a complex one which involves presentation of the PERM Labor Certification by the applicant along with other necessary documents.
A Labor Certification is of special importance to the US employer apart from the applicant. As the applicant may be very useful for the progress of the company, the US employer will necessarily wanting the applicant to have the visa. The certification starts creating problem for the employer when it found out that there are some qualified US workers for the same position. Even if the number of qualified US workers is found out to be minimal, the employer will not be able to offer the position to the applicant on a permanent basis. In such a case the applicant has to continue with the temporary visa in order to continue working with the employer.
PERM Labor Certification is the most recent program to get the labor certification within a span of 2 months and it was officially promulgated on December 27, 2004. Program Electronic Review Management or PERM was actually introduced to reduce the certification times to less than 60 days. Since March 28, 2008, all the applications filed for labor certification has be followed according to the rules mentioned in PERM. Some key features include the following points:
- PERM labor certifications will be filed electronically (or by mail) directly with the DOL.
- The U.S. employer must pay at least 100% (instead of only 95%) of the “prevailing wage,” but now four wage levels (instead of only two) will be available.
- DOL has set the goal for making decisions on the electronically filed PERM applications at 45–60 days (instead of months and years under the RIR or “standard” processes).
The following recruitment steps are to be followed by the employer under PERM:
A. Printed Adverts – On any two different Sundays, The employer is required to place an ad in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment. The ads must contain sufficient information to apprise U.S. workers of the job opportunity. The information to be placed has to be in accordance with the regulations stated by the US government.
B. Placement of a Job Order with the SWA – The employer must place a job order with the SWA serving the area of intended employment for a period of 30 days.
C. Notice of filling – A notice to the union representative of the job opportunity must be provided by the employer.
- Additional Recruitment Steps – In addition to the above mandatory steps, the employer must select three more recruitment steps.
- Employers’ Web Site
- Job Search Web Sites (other than the employer’s web site)
- Career/Job Fairs
- On-Campus Recruitment
- College Campus Placement Offices
- Trade or Professional Organizations/Publications
- Private Employment Firms
- Employee Referral Programs with Incentives
- Local and Ethnic Newspapers
- Radio and Television Advertisements
For assistance or more information about PERMs and Labor Certification, please contact and schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney from USAcitizenships.com.