Contact Us
Permanent Resident / Green Card
ost employers who intend to employ foreign workers on a permanent basis must first file an Application for Alien Labor Certification with the U.S. Department of Labor. This process requires that the employer pay the prevailing wage rate as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor. If the employer is paying the prevailing wage rate, they will need to place ads to test the U.S. labor market for qualified U.S. workers. If that test of the labor market does not turn up any qualified U.S. workers, the employer can file the application with the Department of Labor. If the Department of Labor finds that the employer has complied with the rules of this process and no qualified U.S. workers were disadvantaged by the employment of the foreign worker, the application will ultimately be certified. The certified Application for Alien Labor Certification can then be used to file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
Please note that the Department of Labor has strict requirements for employers who are conducting recruitment in connection with an Application for Alien Labor Certification. Employers who file an application must demonstrate good faith efforts to contact all applicants who respond to the ads placed in the context of a labor certification case. Frequently, employers cannot disqualify on the basis of a resume alone except in limited circumstances. For applicants who do not respond to multiple employer attempts to reach them, the Department of Labor requires that the employer send that applicant a letter by certified mail. Also, the reasons for disqualification must be lawful ones which are acceptable to the Department of Labor. For example, the Department of Labor will not accept an employer argument that an applicant was overqualified for the job if the met the minimum degree and experience requirements for the position. Please note that Department of Labor requires that employers keep evidence of their recruitment efforts for 5 years after the Application for Alien Labor Certification is filed.
The Department of Labor has a database of what it considers normal requirements for various types of jobs. If an employer's requirements exceed what the Department of Labor considers normal, an employer filing an Application for Alien Labor Certification will need to develop a good business necessity argument.
As you can see, the Labor Certification Process is a complex one that has stringent Department of Labor requirements. Our firm constantly reviews current Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals decisions to stay current on new Department of Labor policy regarding labor certification cases. This commitment to staying current helps ensure that our office develops strong cases for our clients and their foreign national employees.