03/23/2004 IMMIGRATION ALERT
PERM DELAYED: LIKELY PUSHED OFF UNTIL OCTOBER 2004

 

The on-again off-again PERM saga has taken a turn for the worse. A recent Department of Labor - AILA meeting has confirmed everyone's worst fears: that PERM is delayed once again. PERM is now expected to go on-line in the fourth quarter of 2004, much later than earlier estimated of Summer 2004.

Earlier this year, the PERM program was sent to the Office of Management and Budget, a significant step in the process. However, it appears that OMB may have issues with the program, which is causing the further delay.

The DOL is also expected to create two Backlog Reduction Centers, whose aim will be to reduce and eliminate the enormous backlogs in states like California, New Jersey and New York. The BRCs will likely be in Philadelphia and Dallas. It is uncertain whether or not the BRCs will go on-line before or after the beginning of PERM. The State of Texas has recently begun a very pro-active approach and hired an outside contractor to work Labor Certification cases. The state hopes that the contractor will improve processing times. If successful, we expect that the contractor will seek out additional state's contracts.