Labor certification
Encyclopedia
Labor certification is a United States of America immigration concept. There are several options available to US employers who wish to hire foreign, non-immigrant workers on a temporary but long-term basis: H-1B visa
s, L-1 visa
s, TN status
and other options. These temporary options are often sufficient to meet the needs of employer and employee. When a US employer wishes to hire the services of the foreign worker
on a permanent basis, however, a complex sponsorship process for the green card
begins, a process that can take years. Generally (although not always) the first step in that process is labor certification. Labor certification is a process of proving that there are no qualified US workers for the position being offered. If there are qualified US workers - in fact, even generally speaking if there are even minimally qualified US workers - then the foreign worker cannot be offered the position on a permanent basis. This does not necessarily mean that the foreign worker will be immediately replaced by a qualified US worker, though. The foreign worker can still serve out the remainder of their existing US temporary visa, and may well be able to re-apply for labor certification and be approved. But it does create a substantial inconvenience for the US employer who wishes to hire a foreign worker, which does provide some protection to US workers, although the process is controversial.
RIR tended to speed processing times up somewhat, so that labor certification times which were previously measured in years began to be measured in months. Both regular and RIR labor certification involved filing first with the Department of Labor for the individual state where the job was located (the individual state presumably being most familiar with local labor market conditions) and then, if approved at the state level, the case was then transferred to the federal Department of Labor for final approval.
to everyone who is approved by PERM, which may have played a role in the retrogression of priority date
s on September 13, 2005.
H-1B visa
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101. It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations...
s, L-1 visa
L-1 visa
An L-1 visa is a visa document used to enter the United States for the purpose of work in L-1 status. It is a non-immigrant visa, and is valid for a short amount of time, generally three years. L-1 visas are available to employees of an international company with offices in both the United States...
s, TN status
TN status
TN status is a special non-immigrant status in the United States unique to citizens of Canada and Mexico. Professions identified in the Canada - United States Free Trade Agreement which began in 1988 are permitted TN Visas for legal work in the United States and Canada, creating freedom of labor...
and other options. These temporary options are often sufficient to meet the needs of employer and employee. When a US employer wishes to hire the services of the foreign worker
Foreign worker
A foreign worker is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. The term migrant worker as discussed in the migrant worker page is used in a particular UN resolution as a synonym for "foreign worker"...
on a permanent basis, however, a complex sponsorship process for the green card
United States Permanent Resident Card
United States lawful permanent residency refers to a person's immigration status: the person is authorized to live and work in the United States of America on a permanent basis....
begins, a process that can take years. Generally (although not always) the first step in that process is labor certification. Labor certification is a process of proving that there are no qualified US workers for the position being offered. If there are qualified US workers - in fact, even generally speaking if there are even minimally qualified US workers - then the foreign worker cannot be offered the position on a permanent basis. This does not necessarily mean that the foreign worker will be immediately replaced by a qualified US worker, though. The foreign worker can still serve out the remainder of their existing US temporary visa, and may well be able to re-apply for labor certification and be approved. But it does create a substantial inconvenience for the US employer who wishes to hire a foreign worker, which does provide some protection to US workers, although the process is controversial.
Reduction in Recruitment
The original labor certification process, used exclusively up until about 1998, involved a lengthy interview process, whereby instructions were provided after filing the case as to how the employer was to go about recruiting for the position. After complying with those instructions, the employer needed to persuasively argue why any US applicants for the position were unqualified - otherwise the position would be denied. Beginning in 1998, a more streamlined approach called Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) was introduced. Under RIR, the sequence of events was reversed: the employer first did the recruiting, and then filed the case with evidence that no minimally qualified US workers could be found.RIR tended to speed processing times up somewhat, so that labor certification times which were previously measured in years began to be measured in months. Both regular and RIR labor certification involved filing first with the Department of Labor for the individual state where the job was located (the individual state presumably being most familiar with local labor market conditions) and then, if approved at the state level, the case was then transferred to the federal Department of Labor for final approval.
Program Electronic Review Management
More recently, in March, 2005, a completely electronic labor certification system, PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) came into use. PERM is intended to reduce labor certification times to under 60 days. Ironically, however, PERM may be creating as many backlogs as it is intended to solve. Because of congressionally mandated annual quotas, there may not be enough visas available to grant green cardsUnited States Permanent Resident Card
United States lawful permanent residency refers to a person's immigration status: the person is authorized to live and work in the United States of America on a permanent basis....
to everyone who is approved by PERM, which may have played a role in the retrogression of priority date
Priority date
Priority date is a United States immigration concept - it is the date of filling for labor certification.A common path to the green card in the United States is to obtain it through a family based or employment based petition, a very complex process that can take many years to complete. When a...
s on September 13, 2005.