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Is the employer required to provide notice of filing if an application is filed on behalf of a college and/or university teacher selected in the competitive selection and recruitment?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the employer must provide a notice of filing which must include the advertisement information in § 656.18(b)(3), i.e., the job title, duties, and requirements as well as the information specified in § 656.10(d)(3).

Does the use of an electronic national professional journal satisfy the advertisement requirement under the college and university teachers' special recruitment and documentation provision?

According to the Labor Department:

No, use of an electronic national professional journal does not satisfy the optional special recruitment provision's advertising requirement. The employer must use a print publication.

Must the notice of filing contain the rate of pay for an application filed on behalf of a college or university teacher selected in a competitive selection and recruitment process?

According to the Labor Department:

No, a rate of pay does not need to be included in a notice of filing for an application filed on behalf of a college or university teacher selected in a competitive selection and recruitment process.

Must a prevailing wage determination be obtained from the State Workforce Agency (SWA) if the employer is filing an application for a college or university teacher under the optional recruitment and documentation procedures provision?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, a prevailing wage determination must be obtained from the SWA even if the employer is filing an application for a college or university teacher under the optional recruitment and documentation procedures provision. The attestation provision of the PERM regulation requires the employer certify that the offered wage equals or exceeds the prevailing wage determined pursuant to the prevailing wage provision which, in turn, requires the employer to obtain a prevailing determination from the SWA having jurisdiction over the proposed area of intended employment.

When must the advertisement for the job opportunity be placed in the national professional journal under the optional special recruitment provision?

According to the Labor Department:

The national professional journal advertisement for the job opportunity as required under the optional special recruitment provision must have been placed during the recruitment period prior to the selection of alien.

According to the Labor Department:

Schedule A lists those occupations for which a determination by the Department of Labor has been made that there are not sufficient United States workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available and the wages and working conditions of United States workers similarly employed will not be adversely affected by employment of aliens in those occupations. An employer seeking a labor certification for a physical therapist, a professional nurse, or an alien of exceptional ability in the performing arts, sciences or arts, to include college and university teachers, should review § 656.5, Schedule A, to determine whether the alien's qualifications meet the provision's requirements.

Is an application for a labor certification for Schedule A occupations filed with a Department of Labor National Processing Center?

According to the Labor Department:

No, an application for a labor certification for Schedule A occupations is filed, in duplicate, with the appropriate Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, a prevailing wage determination must be requested from the SWA having jurisdiction over the proposed area of intended employment.

According to the Labor Department:

The employer must file, as part of its labor certification application, documentation the alien meets one of three requirements: the alien has a Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) Certificate, the alien has passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX—RN) exam, or the alien holds a full and unrestricted (permanent) license to practice nursing in the state of intended employment.

NOTE: Unlike the filing requirements under other PERM provisions, for Schedule A occupations, the employer is required to submit the applicable documentation when the employer files the application with the appropriate Department of Homeland Security office.

Does PERM have a provision similar to, or the same as, the Schedule B provision in the regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005?

According to the Labor Department:

No, the former regulation's Schedule B provision has been eliminated; there is no similar provision in PERM.

What are the procedures to be followed in filing applications on behalf of aliens of exceptional ability in the performing arts formerly processed under the special handling procedures in the former regulations?

According to the Labor Department:

Aliens of exceptional ability in the performing arts are now included in § 656.5, Schedule A, under Group II. Accordingly, such applications must be filed in duplicate with the appropriate office of the Department of Homeland Security. The documentation that must be filed in support of such applications is listed in § 656.15, Applications for labor certification for Schedule A occupations.

According to the Labor Department:

Under § 656.31(a), Department of Labor processing of an application, including audit procedures, may be suspended in certain circumstances. Specifically; "If possible fraud or willful misrepresentation involving a labor certification is discovered before a final labor certification determination; the Certifying Officer will refer the matter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for investigation, and must send a copy of the referral to the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General (DOL OIG). If 90 days pass without the filing of a criminal indictment or information, or receipt of a notification from DHS, DOL OIG, or other appropriate authority that an investigation is being conducted, the Certifying Officer may continue to process the application."

According to the Labor Department:

An application can not be withdrawn once it has been selected for audit. If circumstances have changed such that the application is no longer valid or applicable, the application must be withdrawn. If an application is selected for audit, the employer can not forego the audit by claiming the application is no longer valid or applicable. The employer will be held to the audit provision standards and possible resulting consequences.

According to the Labor Department:

If the granting of a labor certification is found not to be justified, whether based on unintentional or willful conduct of the employer, a previously approved labor certification will be revoked.

According to the Labor Department:

Certifying Officers have the authority to revoke an approved labor certification for fraud and willful misrepresentation, obvious errors, or for grounds or issues associated with the labor certification process.

According to the Labor Department:

If a labor certification is denied or revoked, the employer may make a request for review to the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) by submitting, in writing and within 30 days of the date of the determination, a request to the Certifying Officer who denied or revoked the application.

According to the Labor Department:

Because RIR applications do not undergo the same recruitment process, these applications generally reach final resolution (certification or denial) in significantly less time than TR applications. Therefore, it is often to the employer's advantage to convert applications from TR to RIR

Is there a date by which an employer's original application must have been filed in order to be eligible for conversion from TR to RIR?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, applications must have been postmarked on or before March 28, 2005. This is an extension from the prior deadline and essentially includes all open TR cases in the backlog for which a job order has not been initiated.

According to the Labor Department:

The employer, or its designated attorney or agent, may file the request for RIR conversion.

Aliens are not eligible to request conversion, and the Backlog Elimination Centers (BECs) will not respond to such requests.

According to the Labor Department:

No, under existing regulations, Schedule B applications are not eligible for the RIR process.