Practice Areas

The Many Faces of Stern Elkind Curray & Alterman LLP

Since 1985,Stern Elkind Curray & Alterman has limited its practice to immigration law, with a special emphasis on matters relating to the employment of foreign professionals. Mr. Stern and Ms. Elkind founded the firm with the goal of providing the very best immigration advice and representation to our clients. As the firm has grown, we have continued our commitment to maintaining a high level of expertise combined with an understanding that our clients are individuals whose lives are deeply affected by the work we do. Over the years, we have developed expertise and wide-ranging experience in all facets of immigration law.

We continue to be deeply affected by our clients, some of whom are introduced within this web site.

New Rule Regarding Reduction in Recruitment

January 06, 2004

On November 20, 2003, the Chief of the Division of Foreign Labor Certification for the United States Department of Labor issued a Memorandum to all Regional Certifying Officers. This Memorandum discusses the disposition of Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) cases filed prior to the implementation of the new PERM system for labor certification applications. Please note that the PERM regulations have not been issued yet.

Specifically, the Memo indicates that the United States Department of Labor has determined that any labor certification application that requires less than a bachelor's degree and three or more years of experience, or a master's degree and six months of experience, should be subject to a market retest. Under these circumstances, the Memo requires a one-day "retest" of the labor market in accordance with directions to be provided by each Regional Certifying Officer. This recruitment must be done within 60 days from the date the employer receives a letter requiring a market retest.

The Memo contains, however, a "look back" provision whereby the Labor Department will allow employers who have advertised in the past 60 days to use that recruitment in lieu of conducting a new market retest. Finally, the Memo indicates that employers who are required to conduct a market retest shall be permitted to make modifications to the labor certification applications as long as the modifications do not change the occupational classification of the job listed in the labor certification application. Employers are advised, however, that these modifications should not include restrictive requirements. Should the Labor Department determine that the changes are in fact restrictive, they will ultimately deny the labor certification application.

To date, we have not received a market retest letter with respect to any of our clients. In fact, since the Memo was issued on November 20, a significant number of labor certifications that meet the criteria for requiring a market retest have been approved without the retest requirement. We are following this situation carefully, and we will post updated information on our website at www.sternelkind.com.

Request a Consultation

News