Employers in the US have the option to sponsor a migrant worker for a green card or work visa. There is a process involved in doing this known as labor certification or PERM. An important part of applying for PERM is handling the recruitment side of things and the ads that are involved in posting for this job. The system keeps employers in check and balance, ensuring that they open the job to domestic workers as well.
The PERM process is complicated, but it ensures that the employment system is fair. It is a way for the Department of Labor to make sure the workforce isn’t displaced by migrant workers. There are mandatory and additional steps in the recruitment process. Here are the three major steps.
The first step is that the employer must create three specific advertisements and place in approved locations. This includes a job listing with the state’s workforce and an advertisement in the local Sunday newspaper, two consecutive weeks. After this, the employer must also place three more job listings in other locations, such as an internet job board or a social media post.
The second step is when the employer must review all the applicants and their resumes fairly. This happens after the ad is successfully up and running. The employer may not discriminate on any grounds during this process. If there are no reasonable grounds to dismiss an applicant for the job based on the resume alone, the employer must conduct an interview. It is crucial for the employer to keep a record of all the applications, their resumes, interviews, and reasons for not hiring them.
The third step is filling out an ETA 9089 form towards the end of the recruitment process. This form can be submitted electronically to the Department of Labor. The form requires details about the process the employer used in hiring the worker, information about the foreign worker and their educational background or past work experience. There must also be details included about the work expectations and the role requirements.
After these steps are concluded, PERM approval is granted. Once it has been approved by the Department of Labor, the employer can go ahead and file a visa petition. This needs to be done via a Form I-140 and lodged with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Before the foreign employee can obtain the green card officially, this form needs to be checked and approved here.
It is a lengthy process, but one that keeps the workforce fair and equal for all opportunities. Employers committed to this need to be ready to sponsor a foreign worker under the right conditions and not be afraid of the process ahead of them.
