Immigration Visa Attorney Blog

Before a Permanent Labor Application (PERM) can be filed, the employer must attempt to recruit U.S. workers for the position being offered. This process is essential to a successful PERM case, and if the recruitment is not carried out according to mandatory Department of Labor (DOL) regulations the PERM case may be denied. What follows is a general overview of this crucial step...

The recruitment process spans professional and non-professional positions, and will vary depending on whether or not the job is one that the DOL considers a professional or non-professional position. In either case, the employer must be able to prove that appropriate recruitment was carried out prior to filing the PERM application; dated copies of all recruitment must be kept on file.

For professional and non-professional positions, the DOL mandates the following (professional positions include any EB-2 position and most EB-3 positions that require a degree):

1. The Job Order
The employer must make sure that a job order is placed with the State Workforce Agency (SWA). This ad must run for a period of at least 30 days.

2. Advertisements in Newspapers or Professional Journals
A newspaper advertisement for the position must run on two Sundays. If the position requires an advanced degree, then an ad may run in a pertinent and national professional journal in place of ONE of the Sunday newspaper ads.

3. Internal Job Posting
The employer must run a job posting at the place in which the offered position will be performed. This ad must be posted for at least 10 consecutive business days.

For professional positions (EB-2 and most EB-3 positions) there are another 3 recruitment activities, for a total of 6. Any 3 of the following recruitment forums may be chosen, and must take place within the recruitment period:

1. Job fairs
2. Employer's web site
3. Job search web site other than employer's
4. On-campus recruiting
5. Trade or professional organizations
6. Private employment firms
7. An employee referral program, but must include verifiable incentives
8. Campus placement office
9. Local and ethnic newspapers
10. Radio and television advertisements

All recruitment must be completed in the 180 days prior to filing the PERM, and 30 days before filing the application, though for a professional position one of the three additional steps may take place less than 30 days prior to submitting the application.

Finally, it is extremely important to keep in mind that errors in recruitment cannot be corrected after the PERM has been filed.

The U.S. Department of State is expected to retrogress the cutoff for Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) for India and China to August 2007. The change could come as early as the May bulletin.

This comes from comments made last month by Charles Oppenheim, who is the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division for the State Department. Oppenheim mentioned August 2007 as a likely point of retrogression, but did not rule out cut-off dates being retrogressed more than projected. Currently the priority date is May 1, 2010.

Continue reading "'Significant' Retrogression of EB-2 Priority Could Come Next Month" »

Last month the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano unveiled changes to policy and operation the federal government hopes will increase foreign investments and help spur job creation. The moves have been praised in many circles as step in the right direction.

Although the government still hasn't addressed lingering issues with the current system it's worth making note of what to expect with these changes. It's very possible our friends in the Ohio and Michigan area could be impacted.

Though no law has been changed, a few significant differences will come in the operation of three categories -- H-1B, EB-5 and EB-2.

With H-1B, USCIS has updated its FAQs with the clarification that a "beneficiary who is the sole owner of the petitioning company may establish a valid employer-employee relationship for the purposes of qualifying for an H-1B visa."

Continue reading "Will the USCIS Job Growth Visa Initiative Make a Difference? " »

We wanted to make sure everyone was aware that the cut-off date currently provided by the Consulate's website (mumbai.usconsulate.gov) regarding EB-2 visas for individuals born in India is incorrect.

The current date is actually May 8, 2006, as stated in the U.S. Department of State's February 2011 Visa Bulletin.

As of January 11th the Indian Consulate was still incorrectly listing the E2 date as "current."