The FY 2000 appropriations report directed the Department to submit a plan to Congress. Since 1995, the permanent labor certification program has witnessed an increase in the backlog of applications to be processed as result of increased demand, decreased funding to states, and changes to INS regulations. In FY 1999 and FY 2000, Congress has provided the states with funds specifically for the purpose of first reducing and then eliminating the backlog. In the FY 2000 Appropriations report, Congress requested the Department to provide a plan for eliminating the backlog. The elimination of the backlog in the permanent program is of interest to the businesses which have applied for foreign workers.
Lawyers involved in the process are also interested parties.
In this process, the employer starts the process by applying to the SESA in the stare where the job opportunity is located. After the SESA completes their processing, the case is sent to the Department of Labor, where it is reviewed in detail to determine, among other things, that the job being offered was not designed in such a manner that only the foreign worker was qualified for the job, and that the job was being legitimately offered to U.S. workers. After the review is completed at the federal level and the Department is assured that U.S. workers have been adequately considered for the job opportunity, the Department issues to the employer a labor certification which allows the employer to file a visa petition with INS that requests that the foreign worker be admitted into the United States to work. States Prior to 1997, the permanent case backlog was manageable in size. The stale backlog in FY 1995 was 32,139 and in FY 1996 was 39,775.