For employers, hiring a foreign worker isn’t as simple as it might appear from the outside. Rather, immigration labor advertising needs to go through a strict protocol and adhere to certain guidelines. These guidelines are part of the PERM system. PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management and it is put in place by the State Workforce Agency and Department of Labor across the United States.
When hiring workers on a H2B visa or green card, it is imperative that employers, businesses, and companies understand the finer details of this immigration labor advertising process. It is a time consuming and costly venture to place an advertisement of this nature, so getting it right the first time is beneficial to all involved in the long run.
First of all, the recruitment process must follow certain steps. This includes showing that an effort to hire local and domestic US workers has been done. Things such making the job available to local workers and reviewing their applications and interviewing suitable people for the job needs to be demonstrated. Otherwise, the employer can be at risk of discrimination.
For the actual ad, the employer needs to be very clear about what the tasks and duties of the role are. The description needs to be written with certain regulations and the job requirements have to be transparent to applicants. The Department of Labor has a “minimum requirements” rule that can help explain this part of the process.
The job can then be sorted into a category. In the case of immigration ads, the categories can be professional or non-professional. Professional roles are ones that require a college degree, such as a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Non-professional jobs are those that are entry level and skill-based.
The ad needs to have all the job requirements. The wage doesn’t necessarily have to be advertised, but if it is, it needs to be on par with the minimum wage requirements for that position. This is based on the prevailing wage determination.
The process is not a simple one, but it is manageable. Allowing plenty of time and research to stick to the guidelines is important. Also, understanding that the ad will not be placed immediately—rather it will take some months to get approval—is important to the hiring process.
There are many agencies that can assist with the PERM system. Often, it is beneficial in terms of long-term time and money to hire a qualified professional who knows the system like the back of their hand. This can save a lot of hassle and frustration for the employer who is new to this system.