• Hours & Info

    3233 E. Broadway,
    Long Beach, CA 90803
    (562) 495-0554
    M-F: 8:00am - 6:00 p.m.
    Sat: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

  • Past Blog Posts

  • https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=13104885414

PERM: 245(i): Am I or am I not under it?

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I have heard a great deal of 245(i) and how people who are here illegally can still adjust status in order to obtain Lawful Permanent Residency. I can’t figure out who is under 245(i) and who is not. Can you explain?

Answer: In general, 245(i) allows someone who filed either a Labor Certification or a family based petition prior to April 30, 2001. They would pay $1,000 fine and then they can apply for adjustment of status.

Question: What if my sister applied for me and it will take another 12 years for the visa number to become current? Can I fall under 245(i) with another application?

Answer: Yes, 245(i) is ‘grandfathered’ and can be transferred to another quicker application (like PERM) and still be eligible under 245(i).

Question: What if the adjustment application is denied? Can I file another application and still be under 245(i)?

Answer: Yes. Regardless of how many applications you have, you can keep paying the $1,000 penalty fee along with the normal application fees until an adjustment application is approved.

Question: How about dependants of the person who qualifies for adjustment of status? Who exactly qualifies?

Answer: If the relationship existed at the time the application was filed, the spouse and children are grandfathered. This means that even if there is a divorce or the child becomes older than 21 years of age, they are still grandfathered.

However, if the relationship with the principal did not exist until after April 30, 2001, then the dependants do not independently qualify under 245(i), but rather, must apply with the principal alien. In other words, they are under 245(i) as long as the relationship still exists with the principal person.

If the principal person applied for adjustment of status and then gets married or has another dependant, that person cannot then apply for adjustment of status under 245(i).

Thus, whether you are grandfathered under 245(i) is of critical importance as to whether you can eventually apply for lawful permanent residency. Therefore, you need to be very careful in determining whether you qualify under the above referenced rules.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

PERM: More on Terrorism.

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I have heard a great deal of new regulations and rules regarding anti-terrorism efforts. Have there been any new provisions recently that have been added?

Answer: Yes. If you are in Immigration Court and have submitted several different types of applications, there is a new procedure being implemented which is another layer of security checks.

Question: Which applications are applicable?

Answer: The applications are divided into two areas. First, if you apply for Asylum and Withholding of Removal. Secondly would be if you are applying for Adjustment of Status, Cancellation of Removal for Lawful Permanent Residents, Cancellation of Removal for Non Permanent Residents, Suspension of Deportation or Special NACARA Suspension of Deportation.

Question: If you are applying for the first category of Asylum and Withholding of Removal, what must you now do?

Answer: You must send certain documents now to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center. It should be entitled ‘Defensive Asylum Application with Immigration Court.’ You need to send a clear copy of the first three pages of your completed Form I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal) that you will be filing or have filed with the Immigration Court, which must include your full name, your current mailing address, and your alien number (A number). Do Not submit any documents other than the first three pages of the completed I-589) and (2) A copy of Form EOIR–28 (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative before the Immigration Court) if you are represented by an attorney.

Question: What will happen after these documents are sent in?

Answer: A USCIS receipt notice in the mail indicating that USCIS has received your asylum application, and an Application Support Center (ASC) notice for you and each dependent included in your application. Each ASC noticewill indicate the individual’s unique receipt number and will provide instructions for each person to appear for an appointment at a nearby ASC for collection of biometrics (such as your photograph, fingerprints, and signature). You should receive the notice within three weeks after submitting the documents to the USCIS in Nebraska. You (and your dependents) must then attend the biometrics appointment at the ASC, and obtain a biometrics confirmation document before leaving the ASC, and retain your ASC biometrics confirmation as proof that your biometrics were taken, and bring it to your future Immigration Court hearings.

Question: What is the procedure for the other applications you stated will be filed in Immigration Court?

Answer: A clear copy of the entire application form that you will be filing or have filed with the Immigration Court. (Do not submit any documents other than the completed form itself); (2) the appropriate application fee; (3) the $70 USCIS biometrics fee and (4) A copy of Form EOIR–28 (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative before the Immigration Court) if you are represented. You should send it to the USCIS Texas Service Center.

Question: After you send these documents to Texas, will the same procedure be followed as with the Asylum application.

Answer: Most of it is exactly the same. However, with these applications, after you receive your biometrics appointment and get your fingerprints taken, you must file the following with the Immigration Court within the time period directed by the Immigration Judge: (1) the original application Form, (2) all supporting documentation, and (3) the USCIS notice that instructs you to appear for an appointment at the ASC.

Hopefully, this new procedure will not delay proceedings and will move efficiently through the process.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

PERM: Backlog Reduction: What does it mean?

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I have had a Labor Certification pending for several years. I understand the new PERM process is the new way of doing a Labor Certification. However, I am thinking that I would like to keep my current Labor Certification without converting it to PERM. How can I do this?

Answer: All of the current Labor Certifications have been or will be sent to the Backlog Reduction Centers. The names of these centers mean exactly what is indicated. They are opened for the sole purpose of reducing the entire backlog of old Labor Certifications. Once every old Labor Certification has been processed, the Backlog Reduction Centers will close.

Question: How many Applications have been shipped from the local processing centers prior to the newly created Backlog Reduction Centers?

Answer: Slightly over 180,000.

Question: How many applications have had data input into the new database systems?

Answer: Approximately 86,000.

Question: How many 45 day letters have gone out to indicate that the Petitioner and Beneficiary still want to continue with the Labor Certification at the Backlog Reduction Center?

Answer: Over 40,000.

Question: What is the number of hired/trained contractor personnel at each Backlog Reduction Center site?

Answer: Approximately 100 at each site (Atlanta and Chicago.)

Question: Will Atlanta/Chicago continue to process traditional cases after March 28, 2005?

Answer: They will keep some temporary work only. They are in the process of shipping all other cases to Backlog Reduction Centers. There are approximately 10,000 in total.

Question: Have contractors begun to review cases for substantive compliance with the necessary guidelines? If not, when is this expected to happen?

Answer: Yes and the Department of Labor are in training now.

Question: Is it actually possible that the backlog reduction process can be complete in two years? If not, what is the current projection?

Answer: It seems that as of now, the current projection is 24 to 30 months. Of course, this could markedly change.

Question: When do they expect to complete initial data entry on all cases?

Answer: The goal at this time is to finish data entry on all cases by the end of summer 2005. It seems that no actual process will be performed on the case until initial entry log in is complete.

Question: Will there be an on-line system available to check the status of cases?

Answer: The Department of Labor is working on getting information on their website about which cases have shipped. They are also working on an e-mail capability to enable a party to find out whether a case is located at the Backlog Reduction Center. The contractor staff would answer the e-mails.

Question: In what order will they process the cases?

Answer: They expect to process them based upon when they were originally filed. In other words, the older it was filed, the sooner it should get processed.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

PERM: Backlog Reduction: What does it mean?

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I have had a Labor Certification pending for several years. I understand the new PERM process is the new way of doing a Labor Certification. However, I am thinking that I would like to keep my current Labor Certification without converting it to PERM. How can I do this?

Answer: All of the current Labor Certifications have been or will be sent to the Backlog Reduction Centers. The names of these centers mean exactly what is indicated. They are opened for the sole purpose of reducing the entire backlog of old Labor Certifications. Once every old Labor Certification has been processed, the Backlog Reduction Centers will close.

Question: How many Applications have been shipped from the local processing centers prior to the newly created Backlog Reduction Centers?

Answer: Slightly over 180,000.

Question: How many applications have had data input into the new database systems?

Answer: Approximately 86,000.

Question: How many 45 day letters have gone out to indicate that the Petitioner and Beneficiary still want to continue with the Labor Certification at the Backlog Reduction Center?

Answer: Over 40,000.

Question: What is the number of hired/trained contractor personnel at each Backlog Reduction Center site?

Answer: Approximately 100 at each site (Atlanta and Chicago.)

Question: Will Atlanta/Chicago continue to process traditional cases after March 28, 2005?

Answer: They will keep some temporary work only. They are in the process of shipping all other cases to Backlog Reduction Centers. There are approximately 10,000 in total.

Question: Have contractors begun to review cases for substantive compliance with the necessary guidelines? If not, when is this expected to happen?

Answer: Yes and the Department of Labor are in training now.

Question: Is it actually possible that the backlog reduction process can be complete in two years? If not, what is the current projection?

Answer: It seems that as of now, the current projection is 24 to 30 months. Of course, this could markedly change.

Question: When do they expect to complete initial data entry on all cases?

Answer: The goal at this time is to finish data entry on all cases by the end of summer 2005. It seems that no actual process will be performed on the case until initial entry log in is complete.

Question: Will there be an on-line system available to check the status of cases?

Answer: The Department of Labor is working on getting information on their website about which cases have shipped. They are also working on an e-mail capability to enable a party to find out whether a case is located at the Backlog Reduction Center. The contractor staff would answer the e-mails.

Question: In what order will they process the cases?

Answer: They expect to process them based upon when they were originally filed. In other words, the older it was filed, the sooner it should get processed.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

PERM: Can I bring in my babysitter?

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I understand that PERM applications are greatly expediting the Labor Certification process. Could you let me know if I can bring my babysitter and domestic helper into the United States under the PERM program?

Answer: Yes, it is possible under PERM. It does require a significant amount of detailed documentation to be successfully file a PERM application for a domestic helper. Employers filing applications on behalf of live-in household domestic service workers must provide the following documentation:

First, a statement describing the household living accommodations which must include the following: (i) Whether the residence is a house or apartment; (ii) The number of rooms in the residence;(iii) The number of adults and children, and ages of the children residing in the household; and (iv) That free board and a private room not shared with any other person will be provided to the alien.

Next, thee should be two copies of the employment contract, each signed and dated prior to the filing of the application by both the employer and the alien (not by their attorneys or agents). The contract must clearly state: (i) The wages to be paid on an hourly and weekly basis; (ii) Total hours of employment per week, and exact hours of daily employment; (iii) That the alien is free to leave the employer’s premises during all non-work hours except the alien may work overtime if paid for the overtime at no less than the legally required hourly rate; (iv) That the alien will reside on the employer’s premises; (v) Complete details of the duties to be performed by the alien; (vi) The total amount of any money to be advanced by the employer with details of specific items, and the terms of repayment by the alien of any such advance by the employer; (vii) That in no event may the alien be required to give more than two weeks’ notice of intent to leave the employment contracted for and the employer must give the alien at least two weeks’ notice before terminating employment; (viii) That a duplicate contract has been furnished to the alien; (ix) That a private room and board will be provided at no cost to the worker; and (x) Any other agreement or conditions not specified on the Application for Permanent Employment Certification form.

Question: Does my domestic employee have to have past experience?

Answer: Yes. There should be documentation of the alien’s paid experience in the form of statements from past or present employers setting forth the dates (month and year) employment started and ended, hours of work per day, number of days worked per week, place where the alien worked, detailed statement of duties performed on the job, equipment and appliances used, and the amount of wages paid per week or month. The total paid experience must be equal to one full year’s employment on a full-time basis.

Question: Once the PERM would be certified and approved, can I then proceed to do the final processing for my domestic helper?

Answer: Unfortunately, the answer is no. Very recently, the visa priority charts from the Department of State made the ‘other worker’ category (which includes unskilled labor) backlogged for every country around the world. The typical wait looks like it will be around three years for the visa number to become current. Thus, you could not begin final processing until that time. However, to be able to file PERM application for a household worker is a great improvement over past practices. Thus, while it is not perfect, it is a great deal better than in the past.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

PERM: It is the same process to see if a candidate is not qualified for the position?

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I understand that PERM applications will be able to be filed starting at the end of March. Also, I understand that there has to be pre-recruitment prior to the filing of the PERM application. My question is whether the process to see whether an applicant is qualified or not qualified for the position is the same. What must be done and what must be documented?

Answer: Prior to PERM, the applicant had to meet any and all requirements for the position. If they did not meet any requirement in particular, then they were not qualified for the position and the employer would be able to disqualify the applicant.

However, there is a new provision in the PERM requirements that do make it more difficult to show that a potential employee is disqualified for the position. Under PERM, if the potential applicant does not have each and every one of the requirements of the position, he or she cannot immediately be disqualified. The PERM regulations state that if the potential employee could be trained on the job in a reasonable amount of time that he or she cannot be disqualified and they must be considered to be eligible for the position.

Question: If they are eligible for the position, what exactly does that mean?

Answer: It means that the PERM labor certification is over and that the position cannot be certified because there are available U.S. workers for the position.

Question: What can be done to avoid this happening?

Answer: There will be several ways to try to avoid this. However, most clearly would be the attempt to make the position more difficult and to make the position so that it had more qualifications necessary. The employer would have to try to show that the potential employee could not be trained in a reasonable amount of time. While it is still somewhat early to determine what may and may not work, it would seem that if the employer was a smaller employer, that they may not have the time or resources to train a person for the position. It is entirely plausible that if a small employer has to train a new person, that by time that person is up and running that the business of the employer may be suffering. Also, the higher the qualifications needed in order to perform the positions, the harder it will be to show that they can be immediately trained or trained within a reasonable time. There should be more specificity in the job. For example, instead of stating that there should be a chef. It should state that there should be a chef with Middle Eastern or Asian experience. It should state the type of dishes necessary for the person to accurately perform the duties of the position.

While we are in new territory here, if the PERM is prepared carefully, it still appears to be a much better alternative than the old RIR Labor Certification system.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

PERM: What to do about the Prevailing Wage?

Posted on May 18, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I know that PERM is the new way for Labor Certifications to be done. However, I am unclear how to determine what type of wage should be paid for the position. Can you clarify?

Answer: This would be known as the prevailing wage. This is typically the same wage that someone of similar type experience in a similar type job receives. The way of doing the prevailing wage is considerably different from the previous method of doing a Labor Certification. State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) will provide prevailing wage determinations to employers, but will no longer receive or process applications as they do under the current system. Each State has its own methods, but they will send back to the requester a written confirmation of what is the prevailing wage for this type of position.

One difference is that in the past, the employer could pay 95% of the prevailing wage. Now, the employer must pay 100% of the prevailing wage.

Question: I heard that in the past, the typical surveys from the government have only two levels of wages that were paid. First, was the no experience and next was the completely experienced. There was nothing in between these levels. Is that system still in place?

Answer: No. The new regulations have realized that it is not realistic to have only 2 levels of wages. Therefore, where a governmental survey is used to determine prevailing wage, such survey shall provide at least 4 levels of wages commensurate with experience, education, and the level of supervision. Where an existing government survey has only 2 levels as do most of the actual surveys at this point, 2 intermediate levels may be created by dividing by 3 the difference between the two levels offered, adding the quotient thus obtained to the first level, and subtracting that quotient from the second level.

This certainly sounds somewhat complicated. However, let us take an example. Suppose the position is for a computer programmer and the wage for the two levels is as follows: No experience is $30,000 per year and completely experienced is $70,000 per year. Under the approach stated above, we would take the difference between the two levels ($70,000 – $30,000) which would be $40,000 and divide that amount by 3. Thus, $40,000 divided by 3 would be about $13,333. Thus, the first level would remain $30,000. The second level would now be $30,000 plus $13,333 which would be $43,333. The third level would now be $70,000 less $13,333 which would be $57,666 and the fourth level would remain the same at $70,000. Therefore, now with the same government survey, it is now possible to have four different levels of wages which is much more realistic to correlate experience with pay.

Question: What if an employer does not want to use the SWA analysis of the prevailing wage?

Answer: It is possible to submit another private wage survey. However, it has several requirements and can be quite labor intensive to determine if it satisfies what is necessary to show the prevailing wage.

Question: What if I disagree with the prevailing wage given by the SWA?

Answer: You can appeal that determination. However, that will most likely considerably delay your PERM application. Therefore, you should strongly consider going with the SWA determination of the wage if it is in the ‘ballpark’ of what the wage should be.

Question: When must the employer start paying the prevailing wage?

Answer: It would be only after the Labor Certification has been certified and the prospective employee actually has his or her lawful permanent residence.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

PERM: How to advertise?

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I know that PERM is now going to be the way that Labor Certifications are supposed to be done. However, I am very confused on how to do the advertising. Can you please let me know what must be done?

Answer: There are very specific rules for advertising. However, there are also requirements that are somewhat specific to the organization. First, notice of the job must be posted at the employer’s facility or location of the employment. The notice must be posted for at least 10 consecutive business days. The notice must be clearly visible and unobstructed while posted and must be posted in conspicuous places where the employer’s U.S. workers can readily read the posted notice on their way to or from their place of employment. Appropriate locations for posting notices of the job opportunity include locations in the immediate vicinity of where other required work documents are necessary to be posted.

Question: Other than the Job Posting is there other types of advertising the employer must do in their place of employment.

Answer: Yes. In addition to the Job Posting, the employer must publish the notice in any and all in-house media, whether electronic or printed, in accordance with the normal procedures used for the recruitment of similar positions in the employer’s organization. The documentation requirement may be satisfied by providing a copy of the posted notice and stating where it was posted and by providing copies of all the in-house media, whether electronic or print, that were used to distribute notice of the application in accordance with the procedures used for similar positions within the employer’s organization.

Thus, whatever the normal in-house procedures have been used for non PERM employees must be used for the prospective PERM employee.

Question: What other type of advertising must be done?

Answer: Each PERM application must be done through what is known as pre-filing recruitment. Therefore, the advertising must be done prior to the PERM being filed with the Department of Labor. There are two basic categories of advertising that must be done. First, is for the ‘Professional’ and the second is for the ‘Nonprofessional’. The Department of Labor defines a Professional as a position that requires at least a college degree.

The pre-advertising must be done no more than six months prior to the filing of the PERM application and at least 30 days. There must be two print-ads and one Job Order. A Job Order is placed with the State Workforce Agency or SWA. The start and end dates of the job order entered on the application serves as documentation that this step was done.

The advertisements must be in a newspaper or professional journals (if it is a Professional job.) The advertisement must be placed on two different Sundays in the newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment most appropriate to the occupation and the workers likely to apply for the job opportunity and most likely to bring responses from able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers.

Question: What exactly must be in the advertisement?

Answer: The advertisement must (1) name the employer; (2) Direct applicants to report or send resumes, as appropriate for the occupation, to the employer; (3) Provide a description of the vacancy specific enough to apprise the U.S. workers of the job opportunity for which certification is sought; 4) Indicate the geographic area of employment with enough specificity to apprise applicants of any travel requirements and where applicants will likely have to reside to perform the job opportunity; (5) Not contain a wage rate lower than the prevailing wage rate; (6) Not contain any job requirements or duties which exceed the job requirements or duties listed on the ETA Form 9089; and (7) Not contain wages or terms and conditions of employment that are less favorable than those offered to the alien.

Question: Must a professional advertise in the papers and a professional journal?

Answer: No. If the job requires an advanced degree and experience and a Professional Journal would normally be used to advertise the position, then one of the Sunday advertisements can be substituted in with a Professional Journal advertisement.

Question: Is there anything else needed for the advertising? If it is a professional position, then there must be further recruitment steps. The employer must pick three additional recruitment steps. Only one of the three can actually be within 30 days of filing the application. The rest must be no more than 180 days of filing the application. (A) Job fairs. Recruitment at job fairs for the occupation involved in the application, which can be documented by brochures advertising the fair and newspaper advertisements in which the employer is named as a participant in the job fair; (B) Employer’s Web site. The use of the employer’s Web site as a recruitment medium can be documented by providing dated copies of pages from the site that advertise the occupation involved in the application; (C) Job search Web site other than the employer’s. The use of a job search Web site other than the employer’s can be documented by providing dated copies of pages from one or more website(s) that advertise the occupation involved in the application. Copies of web pages generated in conjunction with the newspaper advertisements of this section can serve as documentation of the use of a Web site other than the employer’s; (D) On-campus recruiting. The employer’s on-campus recruiting can be documented by providing copies of the notification issued or posted by the college’s or university’s placement office naming the employer and the date it conducted interviews for employment in the occupation; (E) Trade or professional organizations. The use of professional or trade organizations as a recruitment source can be documented by providing copies of pages of newsletters or trade journals containing advertisements for the occupation involved in the application for alien employment certification; (F) Private employment firms; (G) Employee referral program with incentives; (H) Campus placement offices. (I) Local and ethnic newspapers. The use of local and ethnic newspapers can be documented by providing a copy of the page in the newspaper that contains the employer’s advertisement and/or (J) Radio and television advertisements.

Remember, that the other outside advertising needed for a nonprofessional would simply be the two advertisements in Sunday in a paper of general circulation and the SWA 30 day Job Order.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

I thought H-1B’s were dead!

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I have heard that H-1B’s were all used up for this fiscal year on the very first day. I have my Masters in Business Administration and was hoping to get an H-1B. Is there anything I can do?

Answer: Actually, there have been new H-1B provisions which have been passed by both the House and the Senate. It is simply awaiting signature by the President of the United States to make it law. It was actually passed inside of an Omnibus Budget Bill.

The new H-1B laws are entitled the ‘H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004’. Now an employer must pay $1,500 to have an H-1B petition filed. If the employer has less than 25 employees, then the employer will only be required to pay $750.00. Additionally, there is a ‘Fraud Fee’ for both H’s and L’s of $500. Apparently, there is a big concern about fraudulently filed H’s and L’s and now everybody who files such applications must pay $500 which will go to a specific unit to investigate such fraud.

Next, the prevailing wage to be paid must be 100% (not 95%) of what is normal for the industry. However, the law now mandates that instead of the currently listed two tier wage for experience, there should be a four tier level of experience to determine the wage.

The Department of Labor will be able to conduct and initiate investigations into what it believes are employers violating the H-1B provisions.

In regards to your situation, now people who earn Master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution are now exempt from the H-1B cap. There is a limitation of 20,000 per year for this exemption. Thus, assuming this is signed into law, it would help you for the next fiscal year. This is certainly a step in the right direction.

Question: There are certainly a lot of fees that have been added. Where are all of those fees going to go?

Answer: The distribution of money will be as follows: Job training- from 55% to 50%; Scholarship program- from 22% to 30%; National Science Foundation grant program for K-12 Math. Science and Technology education- from 15% to 10%; DHS processing from 4% to 5% and DOL processing maintained at 5%. The scholarships for computer science or other technology or science programs are increased from $3,125 to $10,000.

The most important provisions changing the H-1B program seem to be the exemption of persons with Master’s and higher education in the U.S. This will actually free up 20,000 more H-1B’s per year for everyone else. While this is not nearly enough, it is certainly a good start.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

What is PERM?

Posted on May 11, 2025 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney

Question: I am planning on filing a Labor Certification and have heard about a PERM program. Can you shed some light on what this is?

Answer: Actually, the PERM program is going to be a much faster route for the Labor Certification. However, it is not yet here. But, there has been some guidance from top government officials on the progress of PERM. The Department of Labor expects the regulations to be published before the end of 2004. Afterwards, they expect the regulations to take effect in 60 days. However, they have made contingency plans if the regulations do not get published by the end of 2004.

Normally, a Labor Certification goes to the State Workforce Agency (SWA) first for processing before it goes up to the federal Department of Labor. With the event of PERM, the SWA’s will be taken out of the picture and the Labor Certification will be filed directly with the Department of Labor.

Question: What is the contingency plan if the regulations are not published by the end of 2004?

Answer: In 2005, the SWA’s will send their caseload to newly made centralized federal locations. Thus, the SWA’s can still accept cases (if the regulations are not published), but will not process them. They will only send them to the determined central federal locations for processing at the federal level. The backlog centers are in Philadelphia and Dallas. These centers are made for the sole purpose to reduce the backlog of Labor Certifications around the U.S. These backlog centers are temporary and are expected to be closed within two years. The goal is to get rid of the years of backlog cases by processing them through these backlog centers. As for permanent national centers, these will be located in Atlanta and Chicago and will be operational next year. These centers are expected to handle all future incoming Labor Certification cases.

Question: If the regulations do not go into effect on January 1, 2005, what must I do with my Labor Certification?

Answer: Remember that the SWA is the State Workforce Agency and this is the agency that normally would have done initial processing on the Labor Certification (which many times would last for several years before being sent to the Department of Labor.) The SWA will still accept the case. They will time-stamp the filing, but they will not process the case. They will then send the case to one of the two new regional processing centers in Atlanta or Chicago once they are up and running. As of now, there are basically DOL Labor Certification centers all across the nation. It appears these will all be consolidated into the two national centers mentioned.

In any event, there has already been one major shipment of backlogged cases to the temporary backlog centers and it is expected that the remainder will be shipped before March of 2005. It is certainly a new day for Labor Certifications. Hopefully, the years of waiting will come to a reasonable and happy end.

Filed under: best deportation attorney | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »

  • Brian D. Lerner

    Immigration Lawyer

  • Blog Stats

    • 305,649 Visitors

  • Categories

  • Recent Posts