Substitution of Labor Certifications May End | Immigration Alert

Last Spring the Department of Labor published a Proposed Regulation that, if enacted, would have eliminated the ability of employers to substitute new employee-Beneficiaries on past unused Labor Certifications. (previous immigration alert) As with all Proposed Regulations, the public was invited to comment.

Several organizations, including AILA, are reporting that the DOL now has finished its review of the public's comments and has delivered its revised Final Regulations to the Office of Management and Budget. However the DOL does not have to release the revised Final Regulations before they are sent to the OMB. The OMB has 90 days to review the Final Regulations, although they could conceivably immediately approve the Final Regulations.

Since it is expected that the revised Final Regulations will eliminate the substitution of new employee-Beneficiaries, HLG is strongly recommending that any employer's who have unused LCs immediately seek to use those LCs with current or anticipated employees.

Please do not hesitate to contact your HLG attorney if you have any questions about this likely future regulation change.