A. Yes, now that the GC is approved, your employer should "permanently" give you the job described (including the title, salary and job duties) in the Labor Certification. This change should take place within a "reasonable time" after the GC approval.
US Department of State, which is responsible for monitoring and controlling the priority date movement, has made the following comments regarding the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013):
EB-2 China and India
The U.S. Department of Labor has released PERM statistics for the first eight months of the fiscal year that began last October. Of the 43,100 applications it processed, 27,600 (64%) were certified, 83% were for H-1B and H-1B1 visas, 44% were for IT-related fields, and 55% were for applicants from India. The minimum education requirement was an advanced degree for 51% of those certified, and a bachelor degree for 39%. The Department certified more applications in the last two months than in either of the prior three-month periods.
The current prediction that the priority dates for employment based green card applications are likely to retrogress again has brought a lot of speculation and questions from our clients and our community. Let me clarify some of the questions and concerns.
Q. What happens if my priority date ('PD') retrogresses while my I-485 is still pending?
There was an interesting question in today's community conference call we host every other Thursday. The link to the question is here: http://forums.immigration.com/showth...onference-Call
PERM filing issue
At the October 28, 2010, stakeholder meeting with the U.S. Department of Labor, DOL discussed their increased staffing capability and a corresponding increased scrutiny of cases where the employer fails to respond to an Audit Notification letter or submits an incomplete response to such a letter. Where DOL identifies a substantial failure by the employer to provide required documentation in response to an Audit Notification letter, DOL indicated that we can expect to see more debarment and/or revocation proceedings.
USDOL has posted the following FAQ
1. Under what authority can the Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification select an employer's application for supervised recruitment?
7. What documentation and/or notice is needed when an employer undergoing Supervised Recruitment changes its attorney/agent?
Here is a set of questions posed to me recently by one of our clients:
I am Mr. Jones, the employer. The employee, Mr. Smith, is no longer employed with us because of company's budget issue. However, we may hire him in the near future if circumstance changes.
My question:
Q1. Do we need to withdraw PERM LC for him that was submitted 2009?
The status is still in process now. I would like to know if this PERM LC still has any goods for him. Let me know the pros & cons between withdraw it and not withdraw it.
Processing Queue | Priority Dates | |
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H-1B |
DOL statistics on the PERM program includes number of applications received, top occupations, work site states, industries, visa classifications, country of citizenship, and minimum educational requirements, as well as number of certified, denied and withdrawn applications.
Please check the attached document to see the statistics.
Where on the ETA Form 9089 should I enter the foreign worker's qualifications, such as certifications, licensure, or other credentials, to show that he/she meets the actual minimum requirements?
For updates, see my blog page on Obama's Immigration Action.
Takeaway points for legal immigration from President Obama’s executive action:
1. USCIS is “about to” publish the final rule on H-4 work authorization. That will make it possible for certain spouses of H-1 holders to get work authorization.
2. Improving employment-based green card backlogs by:
a. Making visa issuance more efficient so no immigrant visas are wasted;
b. Providing for better AC21 rules and other ways to keep immigrant visas intact after a change of jobs. USCIS will clarify what constitutes “same or similar” job so that AC21 will not stop workers from getting promotions or even changing to related jobs within their field. USCIS must clear the path to career progression for green card applicants.
3. Expandingfurther the OPT time for STEM students, but creating tighter control on which universities/schools/degrees are eligible and ensure local workers are protected (Implement some sort of a “mini PERM?”).
4. Creating opportunities for foreign “inventors, researchers and founders of start-up” companies to come to the USA through an existing program called “National Interest Waiver.” Unfortunately for India, this is an EB-2 category program requiring several years of wait. But the following parole program will help:
a. Creating a parole (which is usually a temporary, but very quick measure and could eventually lead to a green card) program so that on a case-by-case bases, “inventors, researchers and founders of start-up” companies can be brought quickly into the USA where:
i.They have raised financing in the USA; OR
ii.Otherwise hold the promise of innovation and job creation through development of new technologies OR cutting edge research
5. Creating guidelines for exceptionally qualified or advanced degreed individuals to come to the USA through an existing program called “National Interest Waiver.” As noted, unfortunately for India, this is an EB-2 category program requiring several years of wait. But the parole option above could be helpful.
6. Providing clear guidance on L-1B program as to who can qualify.
PERM Processing Times (as of 12/02/2014)
Processing Queue |