DHS media advisory announce a reciprocal agreement for each nation’s trusted traveler programs at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Please check the attached "Media Advisory for Trusted Traveler Program".
In accordance with PERM regulations at 20 CFR §656.17(f)(1) and the preamble (69 FR 77326, 77348 (Dec. 27, 2004)), as with any advertisement, the employer's name must appear on the job order placed with the SWA. SWA procedures that allow for applicants to view the employer name only after applying for the position do not satisfy the requirement that the employer's name be in the job order. If the SWA's job placement process results in the name of the employer not being visible to job seekers, the employer must include its name in the body of the job order so that the employer's name is visible to potential applicants when viewing the job order.
June 11, 2012
In the preamble to the PERM regulations (69 FR 77326, 77331 (Dec. 27, 2004)), the Department of Labor indicated that SWA job order "[r]eferrals will be handled the same way they are handled for other job orders, which may vary from state to state." However, the PERM regulations at 20 CFR §656.10(c)(8) also state that the employer must attest that "[t]he job opportunity has been and is clearly open to any U.S. worker." Therefore, the employer must receive all resumes submitted to the SWA through a posted job order. To ensure that the SWA refers to it all U.S. workers, the employer must indicate to the SWA, pursuant to each SWA's specific process, that it wants to receive all resumes and all types of referrals (e.g., qualified, best qualified, minimally qualified, etc.). This instruction to the SWA ensures that the employer is accepting and reviewing the resumes of all U.S. workers and determining which of the applicants meets the minimum qualifications for the job opportunity, as well as gives all U.S. workers access to such jobs.
June 11, 2012
Under the PERM regulations at 20 CFR §656.17(e)(1)(i)(A) and §656.17(e)(2)(i), the employer's job order for both professional and nonprofessional occupations must be placed with the SWA serving the area of intended employment for a period of 30 days. Moreover, during this 30-day period, the job order must be accessible and visible to the public at large, i.e., the entire pool of job seekers potentially qualified for the position. Therefore, where a SWA has a special exemption of making job orders accessible to only certain groups, such as veterans, the employer must still ensure that the job order is accessible and/or visible to the public for the full required period of 30 days. The employer can accomplish this by instructing the SWA to post the job for the required 30-day time period only after the days during which the SWA holds the job order open only to the select group.
For example: If the job order start date is Monday, May 7, 2012, the end date must be Wednesday, June 6, 2012, to meet the 30-day job order posting requirement. However, if the SWA places a hold on the job order, so that it is only accessible and/or visible to a certain group, from Monday, May 7, 2012, until Wednesday, May 9, 2012, then the employer must ask the SWA to keep the job order open, and accessible and/or visible to the public at large, from Thursday, May 10, 2012 until Saturday, June 9, 2012, to comply with the 30-day requirement.
June 11, 2012
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2013. Yesterday, June 11, 2012, was the final receipt date for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date in FY 2013.
Please check the attachment to determine "Recent Employment Preference Cut-Off Dates".
The OFLC PERM, H-2A, H-2B, Prevailing Wage, and LCA program disclosure data files for Quarter 2 of FY 2012 are now available in the Comma-Separated Value (CSV) file format. Click here to access the disclosure files and corresponding record layouts. Historical OFLC program disclosure files for prior fiscal years are available on our Foreign Labor Certification Data Center website at www.flcdatacenter.com.
USCIS policy memo provides guidelines on how USCIS processes requests to expedite the adjudication of Forms I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, filed by individuals outside of the U.S.
To read memo please check attached document.
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33625-33630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13762]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
27 CFR Part 478
The H-1B Program
U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.
For more information about the H-1B program, see the link to the left under temporary workers for H-1B Specialty Occupations and Fashion Models.
How USCIS Determines if an H-1B Petition is Subject to the FY 2013 Cap
WASHINGTON—Today the formal public comment period closes for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives rule. The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on April 2, 2012, proposes a new filing process for certain immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens (i.e.
If the employer will accept an alternate combination of education and experience and the acceptable number of years is other than a whole number, how can the employer inform the Department of the acceptable number of years on the ETA Form 9089? The field wherein the number of years must be entered, Section H, Item 8-C, only accepts whole number entries.
To inform the Department of the acceptable number of years where the value is other than a whole number, the employer should round to the nearest whole number, e.g., a value of 6 months would become 1 year and a value of 15 months will become 1 year, enter the whole number in Section H, Item 8-C, and then use Section H, Item 14 to provide the actual number of years and months.
Example 1: Where the employer accepts, as an alternate combination of education and experience, a Bachelor's degree and 6 months experience (0.5 years), the employer will mark "Bachelor's" in 8-A. and will enter "1" year in Section H, Item 8-C, having rounded the six months (0.5 years) up to the nearest whole number, in terms of years. The employer will then explain in Section H, Item 14, that its actual acceptable alternate combination of education and experience is a Bachelor's degree plus 6 months (0.5 years) experience but it entered 1 year in Section H, Item 8-C, per the FAQ.
Example 2: Where the employer accepts, as an alternate combination of education and experience, a Bachelor's degree and 15 months experience (1.25 years), the employer will mark "Bachelor's" in 8-A. and will enter "1" year in Section H, Item 8-C, having rounded the 15 months (1.25 years) down to the nearest whole number, in terms of years. The employer will then explain in Section H, Item 14, that its actual acceptable alternate combination of education and experience is a Bachelor's degree plus 15 months (1.25 years) experience but it entered 1 year in Section H, Item 8-C, per the FAQ.
Revised May 29, 2012
Can third party software tools that interface with the web based forms made available by the Department of Labor (Department) be used to manage the filing of online applications?
The Department takes no position as to whether an employer can use third party software tools. However, it is important to remember that these third party tools were developed without the participation, review, or approval of the Department or the Office of Foreign Labor Certification. As such, the Department cannot vouch for the accuracy or integrity of data submitted using third party tools. It is the responsibility of the party using such tools to review the submitted application completely for accuracy and errors prior to submitting.
When making inquiries about situations encountered while submitting data to the PERM Case Management System please be sure to advise the helpdesk if you are submitting information with the aid of a third party software application. In some situations you may need to contact the developer of the third party system to resolve issues.
May 29, 2012