Immigrantion is a difficult process to undertake in the United States. People looking to embark on a new life in America can go through various avenues to get into the country for employment, lifestyle, and safety. But, while each of these avenues has a similar result, the processes vary drastically.
In the context of immigrating for employment purposes, the rules and regulations of the process extend to the company seeking an employee as well as the international professional looking for work in the US. If you are an organization looking to access a global talent pool to bring in top prospects for your vacant positions, here’s everything you need to know about permanent certification and immigration labor advertising.
Permanent Certifications
Issued by the DOL, a permanent job certification is an official document that allows an American employer to hire a foreign professional to work permanently in the country. This is an initial step in the process that ultimately culminates in submitting a petition requesting that an immigrant be granted access to work in a particular position within the country. The government must then verify an insufficient talent pool with the United States to fill this position without bringing in a skilled foreign worker. Other economic considerations, like how the filling of this position will affect the wages and demand for domestic workers, also go into consideration before granting certification.
After the DOL approves the permanent certification, the employer needs to seek immigrant authorization from the USCIS to fill their vacancy with a skilled foreign worker.
One of the first steps that employers should always complete before initiating the recruiting process is conducting a “prevailing wage determination.” This is a calculation that the DOL carries out to determine what a specific occupation should garner as compensation based on the geographic location. Successful immigration labor advertising depends on the display of a wage in line with DOL expectations, particularly when undertaking the Notice of Filing.
What Are PERM Recruitment Ads?
Securing an employment-based green card for permanent job positions can be difficult for employers to achieve, mainly due to the stringent regulations surrounding the process. The DOL takes the permanent job certification process very seriously and routinely conducts audits to ensure that employers are not disrupting the employment market. To ensure that your PERM Recruitment Ads are compliant with all government bodies, here are the steps you need to take.
(1) Place an Employment Order
Job orders are placed with the necessary State Workforce Agency (SWA) to ensure that both federal and state regulations are respected. These orders are placed for the geographic location where the role is to be carried out, not in the state where central offices are located. The posting must then run for a period of at least 30 days, allowing ample time for domestic candidates to see and apply for the position. To further protect American jobs, another 30 days must pass before submitting any permanent job certifications for foreign workers.
(2) Advertisements in Journals and Newspapers
The next step is to place at least two advertisements in the Sunday edition of a local newspaper with wide circulation in the surrounding area. The posting must include the following information:
- Name of business
- General information about the position in questions
- Instructions regarding the location of resume and application submission
- Any restrictive factors like office location and travel
3) Notice of Filing
This is an internal job posting that includes specific information for existing employees about your company being in the process of obtaining a permanent job certification for foreign workers. This information needs to be highly visible on the physical premises and must be sent in advance to any union representatives. A Notice of Filing (NOF) must include the following information:
- General job description
- Business name and location
- Wages and supplementary forms of compensation
- Contact information and an address for resume submission
Businesses that forget to file a NOF often fail to secure a permanent job certification for foreign workers. Immigrant work lawyers and agencies specializing in permanent recruiting advertisements can help you avoid errors that are common to the NOF stage. These include:
- Failing to include all basic information about the employer, job, and company, such as names, wages, and location
- Forgetting to add dates of NOF posting to your recruiting report
- Forgetting to add the address of the certification officer overseeing the process
- Forgetting to include or including different information from that posted on other official documents
Discrepancies or omissions in terms of Notice of Filing information is one of the major reasons why employers see their entire permanent job certification submission denied. Being diligent and double-checking is crucial to success in this endeavor. But, with that said, outside assistance is still the key to ensuring that your DOL forms are all filled out properly and following regulations.
Regulations Surrounding Immigration Advertising
While filling positions with immigrant workers is an essential practice within many skilled industries, the United States government still has to maintain a strong job market for American Citizens. This means that the process of employers recruiting permanent workers is both monitored and regulated by the government.
If you are looking to apply for permanent job certification in order to bring in a skilled foreign worker, it’s important to know that there are numerous steps you and your company needs to follow very carefully throughout the process. The best way forward is to invest in the services of a legal professional and advertisement agency that specializes in employer-based green cards.
