Question:
I have heard a rumor that the procedure for Labor Certification
(required for H1b Visas and Green Cards) will change this April 2004 to
a more thorough but faster process.
Does anyone know the details of the
changes and what impact it'll have on either H1b or Green Card
applicants?
Answer:
Labor Certification is required for Green Cards.
Something different and far less onerous (Labor Condition Attestation)
is required for H-1Bs. The procedure for Labor Certification is indeed
expected to change sometime this year to the "PERM program", which will
be faster and probably more thorough. Unfortunately, nobody quite knows
what the new procedure will be yet. The Department of Labor expects to
publish new rules sometime in the next few months, and they will come
into effect four months after they are published. So it won't be in
April; my guess is July, but others are saying October.
There was a
draft of these rules published a couple of years ago, but my (second-
hand) understanding is that the final rules will be substantially
different from the draft.
I don't think it will make it by April. As a Minimum, it will be by the end of
the year. With the Bush Administration issuing the new budget, the Department
of Labor will not apply for funding for a new program called PERM. Until that
gets approved, it will be by the end of the year. The PERM will not impact the
old applications pending at the US Department of Labor. Guidance regarding
pending Labor Certifications at the State Workforce Agencies has not been
issued as of yet. In my opinion, it does not hurt to file a regular Labor
Certification Application and if the new PERM rules are more efficient in
sustaining a green card, you can always withdraw your application and file a
new one.
Can you please tell me where you got the information that the funding
for the PERM was not applied by the labour department and that PERM
might come only by the end of the year?
