If you are a US company looking to hire foreign-national employees, it’s important that you understand the PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) labor certification process thoroughly.
The PERM process is complicated as well as time-consuming. It’s important that it’s done right so that you don’t put your business on the line.
The PERM labor certification is in place to ensure fair wages and fair hiring practices for both foreign workers and US workers. The PERM is the first step in getting a green card for foreign nationals that are looking to obtain permanent residence via employment. The certification is processed through the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL).
How long does the PERM process take?
After applying at the USDOL, the process will take at least another few months, possibly as many as seven. This depends on how busy the central processing office is. Once the position is approved, it’s valid for 180 days.
It’s important that an employer take a long term vision of this process in line with a green card application. The timing for this will depend on where the person is from as well as the type of job they are being hired for.
What happens if qualified local workers apply for a PERM position?
Because the point of PERM labor certification is to ensure fair hiring, employers have to go through the process with a clear understanding that they will review all resumes of everyone who applies. Even if there are qualified US applicants that do not have a lot of experience, for instance, the PERM process must stop.
Job qualifications and duties
If a specific PERM job description changes, it may need a new PERM application. This will depend on what the employee is doing as their actual versus listed job duties. Basically what this means is that if the job changes enough to seem like a new type of job, the application will have to be re-evaluated.
Be careful with Layoffs
Your capacity to get PERM labor certification could be hindered if it appears that you have laid off US workers in the recent past. This applies to any position similar to the PERM labor position. If you have layoffs and then go to rehire, you must first confirm that you have checked in with qualified laid-off US employees and have considered re-hiring them.
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