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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.

PERM Regulations to Speed Process of Labor Certifications

December 27, 2004

On December 27, 2004, the U.S. Department of Labor published final regulations that will substantially speed up the processing of applications necessary for the permanent employment of certain foreign workers when qualified U.S. workers cannot be located.

Under U.S. law, before certain foreign workers can obtain permanent resident status to remain and work in the U.S. permanently, a certification is required from the U.S. Department of Labor. The certification assures that there are not any U.S. workers who are able and qualified for the position and that wages and working conditions of U.S. workers will not be affected by the foreign worker's employment.

The process of obtaining that certification from the U.S. Department of Labor has become a cumbersome and lengthy process, often taking several years or more, involving both state and federal agencies. The new regulations will streamline the process to one agency, with approvals expected in routine cases within 45-60 days after the application is filed.

Before certification of a position for a foreign worker is granted, specified recruiting must be undertaken by the employer at least 30 days but no more than 180 days prior to filing the application. In all cases, the recruiting must include a "job order" through the state's workforce/employment agency and Sunday newspaper advertisements. Professional positions require at least three other forms of recruiting such as job fairs, internet advertising, on-campus recruiting, trade organizations, and others.

Employers will be required to keep all documentation of their efforts to find qualified U.S. workers and may be asked to produce such documentation for audit by the U.S. Department of Labor based on criteria or random selection. Employers may be required to undergo further supervised recruitment efforts in the event the U.S. Department of Labor deems it appropriate.

Though the full impact of the new regulation is impossible to predict at this early stage, the continued ability to certify positions for foreign workers when qualified U.S. workers cannot be located and the substantial reduction in time necessary to obtain the certifications is most welcome news for U.S. employers.

As originally envisioned in proposed regulations published in May 2002, the new process would have substantially limited employers' ability to seek certifications for necessary foreign workers, negatively impacting their competitiveness in today's world economy. The final regulations appear to have taken that impact into account and allow employers to seek the certifications in cases where foreign workers bring skills necessary for employer's business unless U.S. workers can be trained in a reasonable period of on-the-job training.

A live link to the regulations can be found at the bottom of our "Valuable Links" page.

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