Source: https://toluimmigration.com/green-card/employment-immigration/permanent-labor-certification-perm
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 12:23:08+00:00

Document:
Under the American immigration system, the essential requirement in employment-based immigration is the labor certification. Labor certification is based on a document certified by the Department of Labor (DOL) after an employer complies with certain filing and recruitment requirements. These requirements deal with proving that the employment of an alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed American workers. In complying with PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) requirements, an employer must demonstrate that, despite having recruited, he was not able to find a willing and minimally qualified American worker to fill the applied position.
Under PERM, an employer must obtain a prevailing wage determination (PWD) from the applicable state workforce agency (SWA) and recruit for the open position. If no able, qualified and willing American workers apply for the position, the employer will complete and submit to a DOL PERM web site www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov, Form 9089 describing the job duties, minimum requirements, wages, recruitment efforts and recruitment results. A DOL processing center will conduct a quick anti-fraud check to make sure the employer exists and has employees, and if the application is not selected for an audit, then it will certify the application.
The job requirements must be those normally required for the occupation and must not exceed the SVP. The SVP is the specific vocational preparation training time permitted for an occupation. “Permitted” means that the DOL has determined the SVP for each occupation (normal requirements in the United States), and employers may not set higher requirements than those described by the SVP, without documentation of business necessity.
SVP levels are determined by the O*NET’s job zones. Job Zone Levels are used on the O*Net to categorize jobs according to complexity. There are five job zone levels, from level one (jobs requiring little or no training) to level five (jobs requiring higher education, training and experience). Each job zone level is associated with a specific SVP range.
In accordance with 20 CFR § 656.17(i)(1), the job requirements must represent the employer’s actual minimum requirements for the employment opportunity.
Pursuant to 20 CFR § 656.17(i)(2), the employer must not have hired workers with less training or experience for jobs substantially comparable to that slotted for the alien worker. (20 CFR § 656.17(i)(5)(ii) defines “substantially comparable” as a job requiring performance of the same job duties more than fifty percent of the time.).
As stated in 20 CFR § 656.17(i)(3), if the employer has already hired the alien, DOL will review the training and experience the alien possessed at the time of hiring since normally the employer cannot require American applicants to possess training or experience beyond that which the alien possessed when hired. There are two exceptions to this rule: (a) the alien gained experience while working for the employer in a position not substantially comparable to the position for which certification is sought as stated in 20 CFR § 656.17(i)(3)(i), or (b) it is no longer feasible for the employer to train a worker to qualify for the position as described in 20 CFR § 656.17(i)(3)(ii).
Under PERM, an employer in this context is defined as an entity with the same federal employer identification number (FEIN). Therefore, experience gained with domestic and overseas affiliates and subsidiaries can be used as long as they do not have the same FEIN as that of the petitioning employer. It is only experience gained with the petitioning employer that cannot be used unless one of the two exceptions mentioned above applies.
Job Order. For both professional and non-professional jobs, the employer must place a job order for the opportunity with a given state’s employment security agency (SESA) for a period of thirty days. A job order is similar to a notice about the opportunity from the employer to the state employment agency. Each state maintains a job bank to which the public has access. The starting and ending dates of the job order must be listed on Form ETA-9089.
In-house Posting. In addition, the employer must post an in-house notice about the job opportunity. He must post the notice for at least ten consecutive business days, and the notice period must be between 30 and 180 days before filing of the labor certification. It is critical to note that the in-house posting, unlike other recruitment methods mentioned below, must state the offered salary for the position.
Sunday Advertisement. The employer must place a recruitment advertisement on two Sundays, which may be consecutive, in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment. The employer must place the job advertisement at least thirty days, but not more than 180 days, prior to filing the labor certification.
Mandatory Use of Available In-House Media. For both professional and non-professional positions, the employer must use all available in-house media, electronic or printed, in accordance with normal procedures used by the employer for similar positions. The key to this requirement is the term “normal procedure”. Therefore, if the employer ordinarily posts job opportunities on the company’s Web site, then it is mandatory to use this medium for the position designated for the alien worker. In addition, if the employer does not normally use any other in-house media, then the employer does not need to create one.
Only one of the additional recruitment steps may take place within thirty days of the filing, and the dates and methods of each step must be listed in it. The employer must retain documentation pertaining to each recruitment step in case of an audit.
The geographic area of employment with enough specificity to apprise applicants of any travel requirements and where applicants will have to reside to perform the job opportunity.
Send resume to: XYZ, Inc.
Of course, while a small advertisement saves costs, one that details specific job duties and the minimum requirements is preferred to limit the number of responses from unqualified applicants, which results in unnecessary and wasteful administrative efforts.
Radio and television advertisements—copy of the employer’s advertisement along with written confirmation from the radio or television station stating that the advertisement was aired.
Mandatory determination before filing. Each application must contain a prevailing wage determination made by the SESA of the state where the job is located. There is no centralized format for the wage request.
Match with 100% of the prevailing wage. Once the prevailing wage is determined, the PERM regulations require the employer at least to match the prevailing wage.
4-level wage system. The PERM regulations contain a four-level wage system corresponding to the experience and education requirement of the position as well as the level of supervision.
Components of the wage compensation. The general rule is that the wage consists of the payment guaranteed by the employer, which is not discretionary. The payment guarantee may come from an employment agreement or inferred by law. Therefore, commissions, bonus or other incentives do not fall under the definition of wages because they are discretionary.
When the prevailing wage must be paid. The employer must pay the prevailing wage as soon the USCIS grants the alien worker’s I-485 application for adjustment of status.
How long the determined wage is valid. The wage, determined by the state, is valid for one year. If it is older that one year, then the petitioner must obtain a new one from the applicable SESA.
order supervised recruitment in future cases for up to two years when there is a substantial failure to produce documentation, inadequate documentation, material misrepresentation or for any other appropriate reason. If the application is denied, the employer may request a review by the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals.
A language is part of the minimum requirements.
If it is a question of a closely held corporation in which the alien has an ownership interest, then documentation of a bona fide job opportunity.

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