Question: Is the employer permitted to use an electronic or web-based national professional journal instead of a print journal when conducting recruitment under 20 CFR 656.18, Optional special recruitment and documentation procedures for college and university teachers?

Answer:

Yes, an employer may use an electronic or web-based national professional journal to satisfy the provision found at 20 CFR 656.18(b)(3), which requires use of a national professional journal for advertisements for college or university teachers.

The advertisement for the job opportunity for which certification is sought must be posted for at least 30 calendar days on the journal’s website.

Documentation of the placement of an advertisement in an electronic or web-based national professional journal must include evidence of the start and end dates of the advertisement placement and the text of the advertisement.

7/29/11.

The OFLC National Prevailing Wage Center has announced:

The OFLC National Prevailing Wage Center is experiencing delays in processing prevailing wage determinations as it is currently working to reissue certain determinations to comply with a court order issued June 15, 2011 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on June 28, 2011, and a Final Rule will be published on August 1. All Center resources are currently being utilized to comply with this court order. The processing of Prevailing Wage Determinations, redeterminations, and Center Director Reviews has been temporarily suspended. Processing will resume as soon as full compliance with the court order has been completed by OFLC.

There has been a recent change in the direct filing location for Skilled Worker I-140 Petitions, which must now be filed at the Dallas Lockbox.

This now means that ALL I-140 Petitions that are not premium processing must be filed with the Dallas Lockbox.

USCIS Dallas Lockbox

For U.S. Postal Service (USPS) deliveries:

USCIS
P.O. Box 660867
Dallas, TX 75266

For Express mail and courier deliveries:

USCIS
Attn: AOS
2501 S. State Highway 121
Business
Suite 400
Lewisville, TX 75067

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Office of Foreign Labor Certification Frequently Asked Questions – Permanent Labor Certification – Round 11

August 3, 2010

Filing – How to File

Question: Does the Office of Foreign Labor Certification expedite applications?

Answer: The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), as a matter of long standing policy, does not expedite the processing of applications due to the particular circumstances of any individual employer, foreign worker, or a family member.

Professional/Non Professional

Question: What documentation can an employer provide to evidence its use of an employee referral program with incentives as one of the mandatory three additional recruitment steps for a professional occupation?

Answer: Pursuant to 20 CFR 656.17(e)(4)(ii)(G), an employer can document its use of an employee referral program with incentives by providing dated copies of its notices or memoranda advertising the program and specifying the incentives offered as well as other appropriate documentation.

In addition to establishing the existence of a referral program, employers must document that its employees were aware of the vacancy for which certification is being sought through means such as a posting on the employer’s internal web site.

The Notice of Filing provided to satisfy § 656.10(d) shall not be sufficient for this purpose.

What to File/Documentation

Question: May an employer submit unsolicited documentation to the National Processing Center?

Answer: Where an employer or its representative submits unsolicited documentation in conjunction with, or after filing an ETA Form 9089, the application will be automatically selected for audit except in the case of a request for reconsideration filed after an application is denied.

Where an employer or its representative submits unsolicited documentation prior to filing an ETA Form 9089, i.e., where there is no record at the National Processing Center of an application having been submitted by the employer, the documentation will be returned to the sender.

Please note that where an employer or its representative does receive a request for information or documentation from the National Processing Center, e.g. a request regarding confirmation of the bona fide existence of the business or sponsorship verification, such a request does not necessarily signify the application has been placed into the audit queue.

However, failure to respond to the request for information or documentation may result in the application being placed in the audit queue or denied.

Notice of Filing

Question: For purposes of the Notice of Filing that is required to be made in connection with a PERM application, what does the Office of Foreign Labor Certification count as a “business day?”

Answer: OFLC has consistently interpreted business days to mean Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.

Advertising when the employer is advised to place the ads in a newspaper that no longer runs ads for three consecutive days:

The regulation governing supervised recruitment (20 CFR 656.21) requires the ad be placed for three consecutive days.

DOL has established a protocol for forwarding to the employer the newspaper in which the ads should be placed.

When DOL discovers that a newspaper no longer will place three day ads, DOL will cease to require publication in that newspaper.

If DOL makes this discovery in the course of supervised recruitment advertising, DOL will work with the employer or attorney/agent to find an alternative that comports to the regulation.

Employers who are instructed to place an ad in a newspaper that then learn the newspaper will not place a three-day advertisement should contact the DOL using their SR email helpdesk at SR.processing@dol.gov to be considered for alternative advertising options.