PERM Labor Certification Process (Ⅰ)

A permanent labor certification issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States. In most instances, before the U.S. employer can submit an immigration petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the employer must obtain an approved labor certification request from the DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA).

The DOL must certify to the USCIS that there are no qualified U.S. workers able, willing, qualified and available to accept the job at the prevailing wage for that occupation in the area of intended employment and that employment of the alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

What is PERM?
To improve the operations of the permanent labor certification program, ETA published a final regulation on December 27, 2004, which required the implementation of a new re-engineered permanent labor certification program by March 28, 2005. The PERM System i.e. Program Electronic Review Management System is a program developed by the Department of Labor to replace the then existing Employment based Labor Certification Application.

How PERM works?
The PERM procedures have been designed to expedite the Labor Certification process. It eliminated the two methods of processing viz. Regular and RIR (Reduction in Recruitment). PERM uses automated computer systems to scan attestation forms filed by employers regarding their compliance with all regulatory requirements. However, it is supposed to be a strict and rule-based system, requiring less paper work and cutting down on the time and formalities of collection of documents.

Are all applications covered under PERM?
The PERM regulation came into effect from March 28, 2005 and is applicable only to applications filed on or after that date. Applications filed under the regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005, will continue to be processed at the appropriate Backlog Elimination Center under the rule in effect at the time of filing. As of March 28, 2005, applications (Form 750) are no longer accepted under the previous regulations. The new applications (ETA Form 9089) are needed to be filed under PERM at the appropriate National Processing<