What to Do Before Filing for PERM Labor Certification?

As a United States-based employer, you may believe that a certain foreign worker would serve as a great asset to your workforce. However, before you can promise them a job, you must get smart on whether they intend to seek employment-based permanent residency. If so, this means you may be required to sponsor them. Then, depending on the particular visa category they are going for, you may need to obtain a PERM labor certification, as well. Before you can do this, though, please follow along to find out the efforts that need to be made ahead of filing for PERM labor certification, and how one of the proficient Lancaster County work visa lawyers at Lupton Law LLC can help ensure that you execute this correctly. 

What needs to be done before filing for PERM labor certification?

It is first important to understand why a PERM labor certification is required. Well, in short, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) wants to ensure that jobs are not being taken away from U.S. workers, and that it is not affecting the wages of existing U.S. workers either.

With that being said, as a U.S. employer, the first step you will need to take is acquire a prevailing wage determination from the DOL. Here, the DOL will use labor market data to calculate the average wage paid to workers in similar positions within a specific geographic area. Based on this, you cannot pay a foreign worker less than this wage.

But also, before you can even offer this job to a foreign worker, you must satisfy mandatory recruitment efforts. This is to adequately test the U.S. labor market and prove to the DOL that no U.S. worker was available or qualified for this job opening. For this, you may have to post the job internally, online, with state workforce agencies, in newspaper ads, etc. You may also have to attend job fairs, conduct campus interviews, etc.

What needs to be done after filing for PERM labor certification?

After obtaining a prevailing wage determination and executing adequate recruitment practices, you may proceed with filing Form ETA-9089 with the DOL for a PERM labor certification. You may have to wait several months to hear back on this, or longer if the DOL requests additional documentation or wishes to audit the application.

If you are lucky enough to receive approval, you may proceed with filing Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Of note, this application may have its own set of strict expectations. For example, you must demonstrate that you have the financial capacity to pay the prospective foreign worker the offered wages. Plus, proving that they meet all the eligibility criteria for the job opening. 

For further legal guidance, please look no further than one of the talented Lancaster County work visa lawyers. When you work with Lupton Law LLC, you can trust that you are in good hands. Schedule a consultation with us today.