Prior to filing the permanent labor certification application, the employer must conduct recruitment of U.S. workers for the job being offered. Recruitment is a cumbersome process and very time and process specific, and the requirements change based on the type of job being offered. We highly recommend you retain qualified PERM attorneys to help you with your recruitment process. Incorrect recruitment can result in the denial of the permanent labor certification application.
For purposes of recruitments, most jobs can generally be categorized as professional or non-professional occupations. Professional occupations generally require at minimum a Bachelor’s degree. There are some jobs that the DOL insists are professional occupations, and thus, the recruitment must conform to the professional occupation standards. The recruitment process will vary depending on whether the occupation is professional or non-professional. All petitioning employers (except for those applications involving college or university teachers selected pursuant to a competitive recruitment and selection process, Schedule A occupations, and sheepherders) must attest to having conducted the recruitment prior to filing the application.
The following mandatory recruitment activities are required for all applications involving professional and non-professional occupations:
Employer must conduct the recruitment no more than 180 days but no less than 30 days prior to the date of submitting the labor certifications.
The employer must place a job order with the local SWA for a period of 30 days. The start and end dates of the job order entered on the application will serve as documentation of this step.
The employer must place an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation on two different Sundays. If the job offer requires experience and an advanced degree, the employer may place an advertisement in the national professional journal in lieu of one of the Sunday advertisements.
However, if the job opportunity is located in a rural area that does not have a newspaper that publishes a Sunday edition, the employer may use the newspaper edition with the widest circulation.
This exception applies to rural newspapers only. If a suburban newspaper has no Sunday edition, the employer must publish the Sunday advertisement in the most appropriate city newspaper that serves the suburban area.
The employer must post an internal job posting with all DOL required information for a period of 10 consecutive business days. If the position is a union position, the employer must give proper notice to the bargaining representative.
If the position offered is a professional position (all EB-2 cases and most EB-3 cases that require a degree), the PERM regulation requires the employer to post the job in at least three of the following forums during the period mentioned above (except one activity may be within 30 days prior to the date of submission):
The job advertisement does not need to include every single minute detail about the job duties. However, it must be thorough, and include the following information: name of the employer, directing applicants to send resumes to the employer, and give the contact information, provide a description of the job with enough details that it is clear what the job is for, not contain a wage lower than that in the Prevailing Wage Determination, not contain additional job requirements not normally required for the position, unless there is a demonstrated business need, and not contain wages or terms of employment that are less favorable than those being offered to the foreign national worker.
Once the job has been advertised, the employer must interview U.S. employees that meet the minimum requirements. If the employer rejects U.S. workers that meet the minimum qualifications, he must document why in his recruitment report. The employer must have a reason for rejecting a minimally qualified U.S. worker, and include that in the recruitment report.
Recruitment must be performed during the 6 months prior to filing the labor certification application, but must also be completed 30 days before filing the labor certification application. The counting of days is strictly defined by the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. We highly recommend you consult with an experienced attorney, such as Z&A, prior to conducting recruitment. Errors in recruitment cannot be cured after the labor certification application has been filed.
The requirements for different postings vary as the DOL has developed a very complicated practice during years of the Labor Certification Process. Though the supporting documents are not submitted at the time of online filing, the employer must keep a full set documentation for at least five years from the date of submission and the DOL may begin an audit and investigation at any time.
Please note, for a tenure-tracked teaching position at a university or college, if the position is offered through a competitive selection process, the above requirements may be waived. This is referred to as Special Handling PERM. For details of the Special Handling PERM process for university or college teaching positions, please click here.
PERM labor certification is an extremely complicated procedure and time-sensitive. We recommend that you consult with an experienced and responsible immigration attorney. We have successfully represented many PERM cases. If you would like to contact us, please telephone us at (713) 771-8433 or visit us at one of our six locations. You can also contact us conveniently online by emailing us at info@hooyou.com. Our attorneys will use their experience, expertise, and teamwork to ensure the highest quality of service.
For more information on PERM labor certification, please refer to the following links: