News Update - December 15, 2007
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
PERM Labor Certification News & Hints
With the Backlog Elimination Centers closed as of September 30,
2007 except for some pending pre-PERM labor certifications (traditional
(TR) and reduction-in-recruitment (RIR)), the national processing
centers have been beefed up and are scrutinizing PERM applications
and issuing a greater number of audit requests. Processing times
have not been established for applications or audit adjudications.
The rise in audits means that great care must more than ever be
given to the preparation and filing of labor certification applications.
The free-wheeling days of loose adjudications wherein normally bad
applications were approved without comment appear to be in the past.
Employers are advised to check their email regularly and accept
telephone calls from the Department of Labor. Sometimes within 24
hours of on-line filing but usually within one week, the Department
of Labor will call to confirm the existence of the job offer and
verify information. If the call is not taken or email not answered,
the application can be denied.
Audits are done for several reasons including restrictive requirements,
but also on a random basis without a stated reason. Employer and
attorney vigilance is important as audits become more frequent.
Employers frustrated with PERM delays or unsure of the status of
their applications can check the status of their cases at www.plc.doleta.gov.
The employers or attorneys must have accounts established in order
to log on. If an employer has not received any further communication
within 90 days of filing or within 120 days of an audit, the processing
center for the region should be notified. The processing centers
are in Atlanta and Chicago. If the job location is in Alabama, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington D.C., or West Virginia,
the labor certification is processed in Atlanta. If the job location
is in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin,
or Wyoming, the application will be processed in Chicago. The email
addressed for these centers are: plc.Atlanta@dol.gov and plc.Chicago@dol.gov.
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