03/31/2005
IMMIGRATION ALERT
PERM IS NOW LIVE
HLG recently participated in a phone
conference sponsored by AILA. At this phone conference, updates were given
as to the Backlog Reduction Centers, 45 day letters, Registering and
Filing under PERM, Prevailing Wages, and potential audit triggers.
45 day letters and Backlog Reduction Centers (BRCs)
45 day letters are being sent to both the employer and attorney. Only ONE
party should reply to these letters. Currently, the BRC’s are still
working on cases with 2001 priority dates, although letters for later
priority dates have also been sent out. Inquiries to the BRCs are
discouraged, especially status inquiries. Do NOT contact the BRCs
inquiring on the status of your case. Once all 45 day letters have been
issued the BRCs will begin processing cases using the FIFO method- i.e.
working on those cases with the earliest priority dates first.
Registering and Filing under PERM
The PERM electronic filing is up and running. Under the system, employers
must register first and then give their attorneys “subaccounts” to file
cases. Once a case is filed, a confirmation is given and the case can be
tracked using this confirmation. HLG attorneys and staff will be working
with our corporate clients to register them with the new electronic filing
program.
Prevailing Wages
Employers must now pay 100% of the prevailing wages. In determining the
prevailing wages, the State Workforce Agencies will rely solely on the
Online Wage Survey.
Audits
The DOL reserves the right to audit any case filed under PERM. In case of
audit, a paper record evidencing all PERM activities must be submitted to
the DOL. This paper record will include the following: prevailing wage
determination, job order placements, ad tearsheets, evidence of additional
recruitment activities (e.g. printout of ad on corporate website, fliers
from job fairs, etc…), all resumes received, and a recruitment summary.
This paper record must be retained for 5 years.
Potential audit triggers on the application include answering yes to the
following questions: if want to retain priority date from previous case;
if any family ownership of corporation; if requirements are not normal to
the occupation; and if the experience used was gained with the current
employer. Take note, how the DOL will actually decide to select a case for
audit will remain a mystery until the process is fully underway.
Stay tuned for more updates on the PERM process.
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