Posted on 01/05/2005 1:04:07 AM PST by nanak
FOREIGN workers seeking permanent residency will no longer have to wait several years under a new system implemented by the Department of Labor (DOL), streamlining the labor certification system, reducing the processing time to 45-60 days.
Last December 27, DOL issued its final rule on the new labor certification system, “Program Electronic Review Management” or “Perm,” The new regulations take effect on Mar. 28, 2005, with the same DOL unit, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) implementing it. Under Perm, employers must file a new ETA Form 9089, which can be filed electronically.
“The current process has been criticized as being complicated, time consuming and requiring the expenditure of considerable resources,” DOL acknowledged in issuing the new rules.
While lauding Perm as good news, Robert Reeves, principal of Southern California-based Reeves & Associates, maintained the need to fix the visa backlog.
The labor certification process is a necessary step for foreign workers seeking permanent residency in the United States.
Before the employers of these workers can file immigrant visa petitions with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Uscis), the DOL must certify that the permanent job offer to the foreign worker will not pose any missed opportunity or displacement for U.S. workers.
The sheer number of U.S. employers seeking permanent hiring of foreign workers has resulted in massive backlogs in both labor certification applications with DOL and immigrant petitions with the Uscis.
“Perm is the second part of the [Bush] Administration efforts to bring labor that will accommodate employers in the U.S.,” said Reeves.
The immigration lawyer said he expects his office to be deluged with inquiries about the new rules. His advice: go to an established immigration law office.
Some requirements have changed that will affect a number of Filipino workers in the U.S.
For instance, the DOL document states a change for nurses in that, a nurse’s employer must present documentation that the prospective employee has passed the CGFNS (Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools) examination or has acquired permanent, full and unrestricted license in the state of intended employment.
Otherwise, nurses and physical therapists remain in the “Schedule A” category that lists occupations with known shortages of U.S. workers, and are thus open to foreign workers.
For live-in domestic workers, most of the requirements remain the same, according to Reuben Seguritan, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, except for changes in supporting documents for auditing purposes. Seguritan noted that, under the new rules, employers must maintain three key documents related to permanent residency applications for live-in domestic workers.
These include a statement describing the worker’s living conditions; the employment contract, indicating among others, the wage, hours worked, and freedom to leave the premises on off hours; and a document evidencing the foreign worker’s experience of at least one year of full-time employment. Pending cases may be withdrawn and re-filed under the Perm system, according to Seguritan.
Under the current process, it would take over five years for a foreign worker to gain permanent status, according to Evelyn Sineneng Smith, an immigration consultant.
“There is a provision in the new Perm regulations which affects so many Filipino household domestic workers and nannies and caregivers in private homes or residential care homes. Now there is absolutely no reason for Filipinos to remain as TNTs [tago ng tago or undocumented],” said Sineneng Smith.
The Department of Labor’s ETA spells out every aspect of this new system in “Labor Certification for the Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United States; Implementation of New System; Final Rule” that can be viewed at www.ows.doleta.gov/foreign/
ping
Now it will only take 45 to 60 days and then the foreigner will be PERM. Somehow this reminds me of permanent. Then all the foreigners can bring their family members in and put them on the dole also. This insures that we will never have enough nursing staff. For every nurse brought in, there are 2 elderly parents.
Of course, Mexico doesn't have to worry about being legal as they just cross the border shopping with their new visas for the best welfare plan.
Our government seems to be taking really good care...of everyone...except Americans.
A similar study by the Pew Hispanic Center reported that of the 1.3 million jobs created during the period 2003 - 2004 almost 30 percent were jobs taken by recent immigrants while citizens and established immigrants remained unemployed
A "modest proposal." Given that there is an overwhelming aversion to transfer payments by right-thinking, self-reliant, free enterprise folks and the same recognize that American labor is uneducated, spoiled and lazy -- just plain worthless to business -- the problems these conditions cause have to be faced. Furthermore, the few Americans who are capable "have no right to a job." It's clear that good productive (wage-friendly) labor is no problem it's just that enough of it ain't inside our borders. Borders?
A final solution. I've heard the icons of right-thinking, self-reliant, free enterprise folks like Rush Limbaugh, Tom Sullivan, et al., say that they are tired of carrying these lazy, shiftless Americans on their backs. Michael Savage suggests that people getting transfer payments be denied the vote. Excellent first step. (Can be extended to include the elderly, You may recall Richard Lamb former governor of Colorado stating publicly and rather boldly that "old people have a duty to die and get out of the way." Denying them the right to vote is also an excellent first step to a final solution.) Then?
Offered with some degree of sarcasm, When will the pros and cons of a borderless "nation" stop beating around bushes and confront our division in every state capital and in Washington, P.C.? Do we stand as a Nation or not? Let's get it over with.
The last Fortune 500 company that I worked for as an engineer decided that hiring H1-B's was a money saving idea.
I was the lead engineer on a project at that time.
The company hired three Chinese guys and assigned them to my team. I had no chance to interview them.
No one on my team could understand a single word they said because their english was so poor.
When they came to me and said something, I just nodded my head and smiled.
To this day, I have no idea what they did during the year that the project lasted.
Yeah, I'd say that this company got a REAL GOOD DEAL with these guys.
In all fairness, they were very polite and well educated, but a total loss for the company.
Stupid is as stupid does.
BTT
Interesting the employers are not required to pay for their health care or that of their families or pay the tuition costs of their children. Maybe the rule should be --- you want them, you pay for them. Taxpayer subsidized cheap labor is what the employers desire --- socialized medicine --- but they will keep the profits.
Why not just admit where you really stand on any and all immigrants?
Is this 21?
It took 40 months to get my green card through employment.
Now Nanak are with or against shortening the period to obtain a green card.
You *saw* a complaint in nanak's post 1 ???
Funny, I didn't see any comment.
(must be one of those typical OBL's *knee-jerk* re-actions)
When the laws are changed they will have to come up with some new excuse. No one is fooled, least of all the Hispanic voters.
Tom Tancredo will one day be thought of the same way David Duke is thought of today.
This is a good deal.
I'm all for streamlining the immigration process. No reason it should take so long for folks who are trying to come here legally, and want to be citizens.
One has to ask why employers are so eagerly seeking these foreign workers if it is putatively not because of the lower wages. It's not because of education: we pride ourselves on having the largest and finest higher education in the world. It's certainly not experience: the only way to have significant experience in American business culture is to be in American business culture.
I love the President but have problems with his thinking on this one.
Yes. That is the way it is supposed to work.
But it doesn't.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.