The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a fact sheet about their plans on reviewing and revising the PERM labor certification requirements and process. The hope is to streamline the program so that it better serves the needs of workers and employers, while still ensuring the purpose and integrity of the labor certification process.
PERM Labor Certification and Green Cards
Obtaining a green card through employment is a complicated, three-part process. The first step towards acquiring an employment based green card is by properly filing a PERM Labor Certification. To read more about employment based green cards, please visit:
First review of PERM program to date
The Department of Homeland Security is not the only agency affected by the executive action. In a fact sheet dated November 20th, the Labor Department stated that it will now review the permanent labor certification, or PERM, program. In the 10 years of its existence, this program has neither been examined comprehensively nor modified in any way.
The PERM program reviewed.
The Department of Labor has stated that it will seek input regarding the present regulation as part of the review process. This input will specifically look at ways in which the system can be brought up to date, and how it can be made more dynamic and responsive to the changes that impact the nation’s workforce.
Changes to the PERM Program
In particular, the Department of Labor will pursue input on the following issues:
- The means by which to identify occupational surpluses and shortages in the workforce, and the methods by which the recruitment requirements of U.S. workers can be aligned with the demonstrated surpluses and shortages.
- Methodologies and best practices that are designed to modernize and facilitate the recruitment requirements for U.S. workers.
- Procedures to explain the obligations that employers must meet to make certain the PERM vacancies are made fully available to U.S. workers.
- A range of timeframes for the processing of cases as well as the possibility of a premium processing service.
- The application submission process, a review process and means by which to address errors of a non-material nature efficiently.
Future of the PERM program
The Department of Labor stated that its Employment and Training Administration might review other facets of the PERM program so as to fine tune the integrity of the process of labor certification, and to more fully align the design of the program with the objectives set out by the United States immigration system and the needs of employers and workers.
PERM process will still be complicated
Improvements to the current PERM Labor Certification program could allow more foreign nationals to benefit. However, even with improvements, the PERM process will still be detailed and complicated.
Are You Concerned About How Executive Orders On Immigration Can Impact Your Life?
If you feel recent Executive Oorders On Immigration will impact your legal status within the United States you need to speak with an experienced immigration attorney as soon as possible. Please contact us online or call our Vienna, Virgnia office directly at 703.991.7978 or our Rockville, Maryland office at 301.637.5392 to schedule your case consultation.
