PERM - Labor Certification

DOL Updates PERM FAQ On Fractional Years And Use Of Third-Party Software

If the employer will accept an alternate combination of education and experience and the acceptable number of years is other than a whole number, how can the employer inform the Department of the acceptable number of years on the ETA Form 9089? The field wherein the number of years must be entered, Section H, Item 8-C, only accepts whole number entries.

To inform the Department of the acceptable number of years where the value is other than a whole number, the employer should round to the nearest whole number, e.g., a value of 6 months would become 1 year and a value of 15 months will become 1 year, enter the whole number in Section H, Item 8-C, and then use Section H, Item 14 to provide the actual number of years and months.

Example 1: Where the employer accepts, as an alternate combination of education and experience, a Bachelor's degree and 6 months experience (0.5 years), the employer will mark "Bachelor's" in 8-A. and will enter "1" year in Section H, Item 8-C, having rounded the six months (0.5 years) up to the nearest whole number, in terms of years. The employer will then explain in Section H, Item 14, that its actual acceptable alternate combination of education and experience is a Bachelor's degree plus 6 months (0.5 years) experience but it entered 1 year in Section H, Item 8-C, per the FAQ.

Example 2: Where the employer accepts, as an alternate combination of education and experience, a Bachelor's degree and 15 months experience (1.25 years), the employer will mark "Bachelor's" in 8-A. and will enter "1" year in Section H, Item 8-C, having rounded the 15 months (1.25 years) down to the nearest whole number, in terms of years. The employer will then explain in Section H, Item 14, that its actual acceptable alternate combination of education and experience is a Bachelor's degree plus 15 months (1.25 years) experience but it entered 1 year in Section H, Item 8-C, per the FAQ.

Revised May 29, 2012

Can third party software tools that interface with the web based forms made available by the Department of Labor (Department) be used to manage the filing of online applications?

The Department takes no position as to whether an employer can use third party software tools. However, it is important to remember that these third party tools were developed without the participation, review, or approval of the Department or the Office of Foreign Labor Certification. As such, the Department cannot vouch for the accuracy or integrity of data submitted using third party tools. It is the responsibility of the party using such tools to review the submitted application completely for accuracy and errors prior to submitting.

When making inquiries about situations encountered while submitting data to the PERM Case Management System please be sure to advise the helpdesk if you are submitting information with the aid of a third party software application. In some situations you may need to contact the developer of the third party system to resolve issues.

May 29, 2012

 

PERM Approval after two denials

It is HIGHLY unusual for a PERM case to have such a convoluted history, but here is one where success came after two denials.

We filed a PERM application under EB-2 for a Physicist’s position for which no formal training was required. The job also did not require employment experience, but did require hands-on work in a university research laboratory with a particular equipment.  DOL denied the application stating essentially that the job requires training.  According to them, “hands on work” is the same as formal training.

Team Notes
Santosh Pisharody

Profession/Occupation

Agency

DOL's Office of Foreign Labor Certification Website Updates

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has established a process by which members of the public may subscribe to receive e-mail alerts whenever the Department posts an announcement updating some aspect of the OFLC website, e.g., program updates, outreach announcements, new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), disclosure data, etc.

Please check the attachment to read the instructions on how to subscribe to OFLC e-mail alerts.

DOL Publishes Notice On Changes To Labor Certification Process For H-2B Workers

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12883-12884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5159]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Wage and Hour Division

PERM Audit & H1 extension beyond 6 yrs

Question details

My employer applied PERM (in 6th year) in October 2011 EB-2 Category and it picked for random audit in Jan 2012, employer asked me to send signed ETA form to respond to Audit question with in 2 weeks. They said its random computer audit and has to respond with paper documents. I am already in 6th yr and my H-1 get expired by May 22, 2012 is it possible to go for H-1 extension beyond 6th year while PERM is still in Audit status.

You will be eligible for H-1 extension beginning October 2012, even if PERM is pending audit or not.