A lot of American businesses rely on permanent labor certifications to bolster their employee base. While it might seem like only the most high-tech companies would need to fall back on this government program, the reality is that a wide variety of industries apply for PERM each year.
Here is rundown of the industries that successfully filed for PERM between May 2016 and May 2017 :
Software Development/IT – This is the industry that relies most on PERM applications each year. In the last calendar year, over 15 cases were successfully filed by software development firms. Cognizant Technologies were able to bring 11 developers from India, which is a surprising number given that most applications are done on an individual basis. Another group application was successfully done by Cybersource Corp. They brought 3 Indian developers to work for their company in the past calendar year, and it would be no surprise to see them bring in more shortly.
Another example of a lump group of PERM applicants came from Facebook, Inc. They filed to bring 18 individuals from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Asia into America. Joining the list of software development companies is Intel, who applied for 11 individuals – 10 from India and 1 from Mexico – to enter and work permanently in America. These companies are giants in the communication industry so it is no surprise that they choose to do group applications.
Why Software Development? – American schools are quickly catching up to India in terms of coding and IT knowledge. While Bill Gates and a few others started massive businesses in the States based off their knowledge of coding, it really is India that has the most exceptional coders. Instead of radically shifting the educational model of American Universities, it makes a lot of sense for American businesses to benefit from the skills these Indian coders possess. It will only make America a stronger country now and in the future.
The Higher Education Industry – Michigan State University applied for PERM in the past year to bring a Russian and a Japanese professor to the school. The global exchange of educators has often relied on PERM to bring some of the best teachers to the States. The application must state that the teacher will do more than simply research: they must actually teach courses.
The Retail Industry – LuluLemon received a PERM visa to bring an Indian software developer to their San Francisco office. This is a sign that a lot of companies are unable to find the kind of exceptional developers they need to stay relevant in the digital domain. The cost of waiting and training someone is far longer than bringing a highly trained individual over from another country. That is always going to be the rationale of the business class, and that is to be supported until training in American produces enough coders to match India.
