The DOL Responds to Concerns About PERM Rejections

Since PERM's inception on March 28, 2005, hundreds of potential U.S. workers have filed PERM applications. So far most applicants have received denials because of the rigorous automatic screening employed in PERM processing.

PERM is an electronic process for filing and processing labor certification applications for permanent employment-based immigration. The PERM regulations are intended to help streamline the permanent labor certification system and thus combat the current labor certification backlog

Many immigration professionals have complained to the DOL about these early PERM denials because they seem to be based on technical rather than substantive grounds. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recently interviewed the DOL about these concerns. During the interview the DOL conceded that the PERM system can be unforgiving of minor mistakes. Among these mistakes are: using the wrong set of prevailing wages; applying for PERM before a state workforce agency (SWA) job order has been listed for 30 days; and registering for PERM through a computer other than the employer's. Despite the innocence of these mistakes, the DOL seems reluctant to readdress the denials. According to the interview the DOL expects a high percentage of denials until applicants grow accustomed to the new system.

In the same AILA interview, the DOL also addressed issues about registering for PERM. 

The DOL tries to verify the existence of each employer after they attempt to register. While the process is supposed to take a few hours, because of the volume of registrations the process can take up to two weeks. When responses do come back by email to the employer they can end up in spam filters, causing employers to overlook them. The DOL advises employers to be conscious of these problems and to be patient with the system before reapplying. The DOL also recommends the following to ease the registration process: avoid "doing business as" names; create a subaccount for any lawyer you retain; and use your company's headquarters' address rather than the address of the beneficiary's office.

https://twitter.com/usaattorneynyc/status/972744264953335809

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwo5BSln98F5djuhU1L7XbpzbaNB-JFXD&disable_polymer=true

http://eb-1-visa-green-card.blogspot.com/2018/03/eb-1-visa-lawyer-in-new-york-green-card.html
https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-first-preference-eb-1
http://eb-1-visa-green-card.blogspot.com/2018/03/eb-1-eb-2-self-sponsored-green-cards.html
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwo5BSln98F4XVQC36dHF_ySVGuzU0A5T&disable_polymer=true