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The Department of Labor has posted a revised Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) regarding the Permanent (PERM) Program and the consequences of withdrawing an application in Supervised Recruitment.

What are the consequences of an employer requesting to withdraw an application undergoing Supervised Recruitment?

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