Permanent Labor Certification for Foreign Workers

 

To ensure that the admission of foreign workers into the United States does not adversely affect the wages, working conditions, and employment opportunities of U.S. workers. To assist U.S. employers seeking to hire foreign workers when no able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers are available.

Active 17.272 Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor J - Provision of Specialized Services; Z - Salaries and Expenses Fiscal Year 2016 In FY 2016, the Department processed 126,143 PERM applications and 133,242 Prevailing Wage Determination requests.
Fiscal Year 2017 In FY 2017, the Department of Labor processed 97,603 PERM applications, 624,650 H-1B applications, 10,097 H-2A applications, 8,970 H-2B applications, and 173,859 Prevailing Wage determination requests.
Fiscal Year 2018 119,779 PERM applications processed and 150,514 prevailing wage determinations issued in FY 2018.
Fiscal Year 2019 The Department of Labor issued 102,655 decisions on applications for Permanent Labor Certification in FY 2019.
Fiscal Year 2020 In FY 2020, the Department of Labor adjudicated 94,019 applications for permanent labor certification and issued 146,438 prevailing wage determinations for prospective permanent labor certification requests.
Fiscal Year 2021 In FY 2021, the Department of Labor received 120,660 applications for permanent labor certification.
Fiscal Year 2022 The Department of Labor received a record 141,951 applications for Permanent Labor Certification in FY 2022, the highest application level in the program's history. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, Sections 212 (a) (5) (A) and 214 (c). Unless otherwise stipulated, recipients are subject to Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards; Final Rule on December 26, 2013 and found at 2 CFR Part 200 along with the OMB approved exceptions for DOL at 2 CFR Part 2900 published on December 19, 2014 in the Federal Register., Public Law 82-414, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq, Statute 66,163 Any U.S. employer that is unable to find qualified U.S. workers to meet its needs and seeks to hire a foreign worker to fill a given job opportunity on a permanent basis is eligible to file an application for permanent labor certification with the Department of Labor. An employer who seeks to employ a foreign worker under the Department of Labor's Schedule A list of pre-certified occupations contained in Part 656, Title 20, Code of Federal Regulations is eligible to file a petition for a foreign worker directly with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Any U.S. employer that is unable to find qualified U.S. workers to meet its needs and seeks to hire a foreign worker to fill a given job opportunity on a permanent basis is eligible to file an application for permanent labor certification with the Department of Labor. An employer who seeks to employ a foreign worker under the Department of Labor's Schedule A list of pre-certified occupations contained in Part 656, Title 20, Code of Federal Regulations is eligible to file a petition for a foreign worker directly with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A permanent labor certification issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States. In most instances, before the U.S. employer can submit an immigration petition to the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the employer must obtain a labor certification from the DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The DOL must certify to the USCIS that there are not sufficient U.S. workers able, willing, qualified and available to accept the job opportunity in the area of intended employment and that employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Preapplication coordination is required. Prior to filing an application for permanent labor certification, the U.S. employer must request a prevailing wage determination from the National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC). When filing the application for permanent labor certification, the U.S. employer must attest, among other conditions of employment, to having conducted recruitment for U.S. workers prior to filing the application. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. U.S. employers must file permanent labor certification applications directly with the Department of Labor (except for Schedule A occupations). See www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/permanent for additional details. If the Department of Labor approves the application for permanent labor certification, a certification is issued by a Certifying Officer and returned to the U.S. employer (or its agent/representative) that submitted the application. The permanent labor certification can then be submitted by the sponsoring employer in support of its immigrant petition for a foreign worker with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Not applicable. The time frame for processing of permanent labor certification applications varies based on the circumstances of each case and the volume of applications received. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. U.S. employers may, upon meeting certain employment conditions and immigration requirements, use this assistance to file an immigrant petition with the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seeking to hire a foreign worker on a permanent basis. Not applicable. Selected audits are conducted by the Department of Labor. The U.S. employer is required to retain all supporting documentation for five years from the date of filing the Application for Permanent Employment Certification. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Applications for permanent labor certification may be filed at any time. Assistance is provided to U.S. employers that submit applications based on the order the applications are received. Applications for permanent labor certification may be filed online at: www.flag.dol.gov/programs/perm John Ake
200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20210 US
ake.john@dol.gov
Phone: (202) 329-1314 http://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/permanent 16-0179-0-1-999 (Salaries and Expenses) FY 22$15,000,000.00; FY 23 est $15,000,000.00; FY 24 est $15,000,000.00; FY 21$14,000,000.00; FY 20$14,000,000.00; FY 19$14,000,000.00; FY 18$12,000,000.00; FY 17$12,000,000.00; FY 16$12,000,000.00; - Funds for the Permanent Labor Certification Program are not appropriated separately from other foreign labor certification funds. Not applicable/available. References in the Code of Federal Regulations: For permanent employment-Title 20, CFR Part 656. Applicable statutes, regulations, and policies are described on the Department of Labor website at www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/permanent. Not applicable.