What are PERM Applications?

What are PERM Applications?

Welcome back to the blog by the immigrant lawyers at Kriezelman Burton & Associates. This is Matt Kriezelman, an attorney here at our firm, and today we will be talking about PERM applications. For many types of employment-based petitions, an employer must show that they have received a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor before sponsoring a potential employee for lawful permanent residence.  This certification states that there were no available qualified American workers for the position, and thus requires an immigrant.

The first step to getting this certification is for the employer to apply for a prevailing wage determination. This involved sending a job description to the Department of Labor, who then comes back with what they believe the prevailing, or average, wage is for the position in the area of employment. Once the employer has the wage, they must advertise the position.

Advertising the position is an attempt to recruit American workers for the position. There are strict rules regarding the timing and types of advertising that must be done to satisfy this requirement. Ads always have to be placed in the newspaper, but, based on the position, employers may also be required to advertise in three additional sources. The job opportunity must also be listed with the state Department of Labor, where the job opportunity exists, and at the worksite where the job will be located. 

Presuming no one applies for the position that meets the job requirements, the employer is then allowed to file the PERM application with the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor then reviews the application to make sure that all the steps were performed correctly. Assuming they make that finding, they will certify the PERM application and send it back to the employer. The employer can then turn around and sponsor their employee for lawful permanent residence. 

Our offices regularly process and file PERM applications with the Department of Labor. If you have a question about sponsoring an employee for lawful permanent residence, please do not hesitate to contact an immigration attorney who can fully describe the process to you. You can schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys by calling or completing our contact form.