Immigration stories demonstrate the process of obtaining permanent labor certification from the point of view of foreign people seeking work. PERM advertising targets endless numbers of people seeking economic opportunity in the United States.
One teenager from Mexico shared her story about how life was for her as a child. At that time, her parents immigration status was not legal, and the mom did not receive high pay for her job. However, the mom never complained about it for fear of being deported or fired. Because of the low pay the mother received, they had to share an apartment with a stranger. They also were afraid to speak much about their lives to other people for fear of being deported.
The situation did change, however, when this family’s immigration status became legal. After obtaining legal status, they could rent their own apartment and not have to share the place with roommates. As of 2013, most of this girl’s relatives still lived in Mexico, however.
Another young boy from China was in a similar situation as the young girl, but in reverse. Before he was to enter the United States, his uncle had obtained a U.S. citizenship. This opened up the opportunity for other members of his family including him to obtain work visas. The China boy said that his uncle inspired him with talks about how if a person is smart that person can “get a really good job and make big money.”
The children in these stories were ones who continued to live in the United States without being deported. However, companies who hire people from other countries are now more than ever seeming to see the need to be careful when publishing PERM advertising. In the process, they must demonstrate the need to hire foreign workers before those employees or their families are legally allowed to arrive here.
This often is a lengthy process, so it might sometimes take years for foreigners to be able to legally work in the U.S. However, it does seem that the international job candidates fare better applying to companies who already have been established as a PERM employer.
