Special handling for college and university teachers relieves the employer several obligations, including the need for further recruitment, the need to state salary in the recruitment advertising, and the need to submit applicants’ names and resumes to the SWA.
Most importantly, special handling allows employers to hire the most qualified individual rather than a minimally qualified U.S. worker.
The employer must demonstrate that it conducted a previous competitive recruitment selection process (involving at least one advertisement in a national professional journal), which found the alien to be more qualified than any of the U.S. workers who applied for the job.
However, for special handling to apply, a labor certification application for a college or university teacher must be filed within eighteen months after the alien was selected for the job.
Assuming the college, university, medical school, or any other professional school has pursued the required competitive recruitment process, Special Handling can be pursued for foreign nationals who have been offered positions that include, but are not limited to: professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, and, of course, teacher.
Although the “job title” on ETA 9089 is ordinarily for one of the above positions, Special Handling may be pursued for positions whose titles do not imply teaching as long as classroom teaching is associated with the position and can be evidenced.
The TAG actually suggests that nonteaching posi¬tions, such as researchers, librarians, and other ad¬ministrative staff can be processed under 20 CFR §656.17, the basic labor certification process, or under 20 CFR §656.10, if the alien qualifies for Sched¬ule A (pursuant to PERM, Schedule A is set forth under 20 CFR §656.15).
Thus, a practitioner can pursue Special Handling for these and other positions so long as the position includes “classroom teaching.” The TAG provides that a (certifiable) position need only involve “some actual class¬room teaching.”
This flexible standard allows for the reality that college faculty positions do not only involve teaching, but also could involve research, advising, and/or coaching.
A minimum standard in terms of teaching hours has not been set by DOL, nor does Form ETA 9089 specifically require that the number of hours of classroom teaching be specified.