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A citizen of the United States is a native-born, foreign-born, or naturalized person who owes allegiance to the United States and who is entitled to its protection. Naturalization is the process by which foreign nationals become U.S. citizens.

According to the Labor Department:

The four wage level provision goes into effect on March 8, 2005, as does the requirement to pay 100% of the prevailing wage.

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.

The primary requirements for an E-2 Treaty Investor visa are as follows:

According to the Labor Department:

Backlogged cases will be processed in Philadelphia and Dallas. PERM cases will be processed in Chicago and Atlanta.

You are allowed to stay in the United States for one year or for as long as you are enrolled as a full-time student in a vocational program (plus thirty days to prepare to leave the country), whichever is shorter. You should be allowed to stay in the United States 30 days beyond the departure date on your INS Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) and SEVIS Form I-20ID (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (M-1) Student Status - For Vocational Students), as long as your stay does not exceed one year.

You may also apply to stay in the country after the completion of your studies to pursue practical training.

According to the Labor Department:

Requests for a duplicate ETA-9089 can be initiated by the petitioner by contacting the Department of Labor or by requesting that CIS assist with obtaining a duplicate labor certificate ETA-9089 from DOL. The following steps are suggested when requesting a duplicate ETA-9089 through USCIS. Please include on the top of the I-140, Petition for Alien Immigrant Worker, a cover sheet (preferably highlighted with colored paper) stating the following:

LOST OR MISPLACED LABOR CERTIFICATION, REQUEST FOR DUPLICATE, DO NOT REJECT

On the same sheet, the following information should also be included:

1. Attorney name;
2. Petitioner's name;
3. Beneficiary's name;
4. ETA case number;
5. Priority Date;
6. Specify whether you want USCIS to initiate the request for duplicate certificate ETA-9089 or you have contacted DOL to initiate the request for duplicate;
7. Proper fee, signature and all required supporting documents;
8. A print screen showing that the case has been certified.
9. Provide the reason(s) for requesting that the Service Center secure a duplicate, approved labor certificate from DOL, e.g. "Case was certified, original approved labor certificate was never received in the mail."

Once the duplicate certificate ETA-9089 is received by USCIS, the petitioner and/or his representative will be contacted via a Request For Evidence (RFE) notice in order to secure the petitioner's signature on the duplicate certificate. The certificate must be signed by the petitioner before USCIS can accept it for filing purposes.

Citizens of Canada do not need a visa to travel to the U.S. except under certain circumstances.

In order for a foreign citizen to be able to apply for an E-1 Treaty Trader visa, or an E-2 Treaty Investor visa, the U.S. must have a requisite treaty with the foreign citizen's country of citizenship. The following list identifies which countries have E-1 and E-2 treaties with the U.S. It was compiled by the U.S. State Department, as of 1/23/2006.

According to the Labor Department:

There is no published list of acceptable publications.

Most employers, based on their normal recruiting efforts, will be able to readily identify those newspapers (or journals for certain professional positions) that are most likely to bring responses from able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers. The employer must be able to document that the newspaper and/or journal chosen is the most appropriate to the occupation and the workers likely to apply for the job opportunity.

NOTE: In the case of a rural area where there is no newspaper with a Sunday edition and the employer chooses to use the edition having the widest circulation, the employer must be able to document the edition chosen does, in fact, have the widest circulation.

The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a statement on or about November 15, 2006, providing guidance, regarding how certain cases in the Backlog Centers which were inadvertently withdrawn (as being "re-files due to technical problems) would now be reinstated. The Statement is reproduced below.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a set of FAQs on the air portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which goes into effect beginning January 23, 2007, and applies to citizens of the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. After that date, those citizens who are traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport to enter the U.S. The FAQs appear below.

The Departments of State and Homeland Security have announced that beginning on January 23, 2007, it will be required "for citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda to present a passport to enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere". The Press Release appears below.

According to the Labor Department:

There are three locations where you may send your questions, depending upon the type of question asked.

• If you have a technical question (for example, if you forgot your password), then please email those questions to plc.help@dol.gov.

• If you have a program specific question (for example, if you have a question concerning the content of an advertisement) or a policy question, then please email your questions to one of the appropriate National Processing Centers at

  • PLC.Chicago@dol.gov (for the Chicago National Processing Center) or
  • PLC.Atlanta@dol.gov (for the Atlanta National Processing Center).

  The appropriate National Processing Center depends upon the state in which you are located.

Please note: Questions should no longer be e-mailed to perm.dflc@dol.gov.

According to the Labor Department:

No. The PDS will return a status of "in process" as a case moves through the various stages of the case review and analysis process at a BEC. Depending on the case type and filing date, some cases may show a status of "in process" for some time as the case moves through the various stages.

Again, depending on the case type and any issues that arise with the case, you may hear from the BEC while your case is in process and to facilitate faster processing, you should respond as quickly and completely as possible.

Each year, 50,000 immigrant visas are made available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. None of these visas are available for people who come from countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years. Each year the U.S. State Department announces which countries' nationals are eligible to participate in that year's lottery.

The State Department's National Visa Center holds the lottery every year, and chooses winners randomly from all qualified entries. Anyone who is selected under this lottery will be given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. If permanent residence is granted, then the individual will be authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. Visa lottery winners are also be allowed to bring thier spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 to the United States.

According to the Labor Department:

If you have not done so already, send an e-mail request to the No BEC Contact box at nobeccontact@dal.dflc.us for the Dallas BEC or at nobeccontact@phi.dflc.us for the Philadelphia BEC. The e-mail must contain the following information:

You may apply for lawful permanent resident status under INA § 209(b) after you have been physically present in the United States for a period of one year after the date you were granted asylum status.

Yes. The "3 years of work experience for every 1 year of college" formula ("3 for 1") is recognized for H-1B1 (for Singaporeans); however, the individual must demonstrate progressively responsible experience and a level of knowledge sufficient to show 'theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge.' Also, depending on the position, the individual may also have to show more than '3 for 1' if the industry standard for the position would require an advanced degree (i.e. law degree, masters degree, etc).