There are times when an organization or an employer fails to find a compatible candidate in the U.S. market for the position available to them. This may be due to the rare skills and qualifications needed for the job. When such matters arise, one way to look for is to find an eligible candidate among the foreign nationals.
Before submitting the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) for labor certification, an employer must complete the proper recruitment steps for the vacant job.
The government laws and regulations are quite stringent in terms of immigration labor advertising and their recruitment process, making the process a burdensome experience. The Department of Labor (DOL) requires organizations and institutions to adhere to specific immigration advertising procedures in their campaigns.
For both professional and non-professional jobs, proper regulations have to be fulfilled.
Things to do before starting the Immigration Advertising process
In addition to drafting an impactful ad and placing it in the right places, there are several forms that an employer needs to fulfill, along with several approvals from the authorities. These procedures are usually handled by the Human Resources department of an enterprise but if an internal team is unaware of the procedures, consult the HR experts to help you file the appropriate forms.
Obtaining the PERM labor certification from the DOL is the first step of the work visa and employment-based green cards. This requires an extensive PERM advertising process. These procedures ensure that employers are not taking advantage of the immigration system by providing potential jobs to non-citizens at compromised salaries.
If the DOL suspects that the advertising process was not completed satisfactorily, then you may be subject to a targeted audit. This can cause a significant delay in your employee’s work visa or green card application. While certain audits are unavoidable because of their random nature, strictly following the PERM advertising procedure will significantly reduce the likelihood of being targeted by the DOL.
Determining the Prevailing wage
For the vacant position at your place, determine the remaining wage rate in the market. This rate is predetermined by the US Department of Labor for the specific position and geographical location. Setting the wage rate below the set limit makes you an easy target of the government for the audit resulting in costly delays.
Low wage is considered a red flag as it is seen as a tactic to get less expensive non-citizen labor for the job. Research the prevailing wage for the specific position and area and set the salary at or above this rate.
Job Order with the SWA
All immigration ads require placing a job order for the available position with the applicable State Workforce Agency or SWA. The SWA you will use must be for the state in which the job exists, not the state of your company headquarters. The job orders need to be run for at least 30 days to fulfill this requirement. After that, there will be a 30-day waiting period for U.S. citizens to apply for this job.
How to file an Immigration Advertisement?
The immigration ads’ process is an intense procedure with numerous documentation to support that the employer has played their part in looking for the US citizen for the job. The entire process can take several months to complete as immigration ads run from 30 to 180 days before an application is filed. The employer needs to complete the recruitment steps before submitting the PERM ad.
Types of Ad Placements To Compete the PERM Advertising Process
The ads are placed in the newspapers by the employers that are published on two separate Sundays. These ads are run in newspapers of general circulation in the area where the person is intended to be employed.
Other than newspaper ads, employers must also provide documentation supporting the fact that the job was listed in at least three other types of recruitment services. The ad for this job needs to be placed in other places such as radio advertising or at the college campus publications.
The final process here is to collect the resume and keep a record of all the contracts, payments, and statements for all the ads. For the ad placement following can be utilized:
- Job websites
- On-campus recruiting if the job does not demand an experience
- Trade or professional journal or academic publications
- Local and ethnic newspapers
All advertisements need to comply with the State Workforce Agency (SWA).
How to Create an Immigration Labor Advertising?
Hire an Attorney:
Expert attorneys assist in creating an ad description that is not too broad or too narrow; instead, it reflects a perfectly balanced message. They also assist in choosing the right language for the ad.
Avoid limiting the criteria:
Some positions require specific or technical skills but limiting the ad for the people who may be a good fit for the job that resides in the area is not a wise move. Immigration ads need to be detail-specific with all the requirements and details included.
Use Abbreviations:
People remember to add or messages that are short but informative. To add maximum information in the ad, you will have to shorten certain things and use abbreviations that do not compromise the overall purpose.
To avoid ending up with lengthy ads and incurring unnecessary costs on them, seeking advice from an advertising agency that specializes in immigration advertising is best. This helps to determine the right abbreviations and shorten the lengthy boring ads.
Find an Experienced PERM Advertising Agency
PERM advertising and recruitment procedures are complicated and time-consuming, and a single wrong document can even stretch the procedure. To carry out the rest of the procedure, employers and organizations need attorneys and advertising agencies in some cases to place the PERM ads to assist in the process. Following the regulation is mandatory here.
Advertising agencies assist in preparing the documents within the required time limits. This also includes quoting, ad placement proofing, resume collecting, etc.
