PERM - Labor Certification

BALCA Appeal Leads to Voluntary PERM Certification by CO

In a case decided yesterday, we had filed an appeal to BALCA against a PERM denial by the Certifying Officer (“CO”).  The ground for denial was that the Job Order did not provide the exact salary offered to the foreign worker.  We showed in our appeal that the fault lay with the Job Order form of the State Workforce Agency.  The form did not permit us to enter the higher end of the wage range for our job, where we had offered a wage range instead of an exact figure.  The CO appears to have agreed with us and has withdrawn denial and certified our case. 

Agency

Job Change after I-140

Question details

I am in the 5th year of my H1. My current employer has filed for my PERM under EB-3 category since I did not have 5 years experience before (EB-3 has 6 years backlog though EB-2 queue for me is current). I want to know is it possible to wait for I-140 approval, get 3 year extension with current employer and then switch jobs? Will I be able to get 3 more years on H1 with future employer?

It is possible and common for employer B to get H-1 extension based upon an I-140 approval of employer A. You need to speak about the details with a lawyer.

Guestbook Entry for Sanjeev, United States

Name
Sanjeev
Country
United States
Comment

I want to thank Mr. Rajiv Khanna and his team for taking care for my perm application and getting it done very professionally. I was in a bad situation were my previous perm was denied due to grave mistakes committed by previous lawyer. This is a huge relief for me and am very hopefull that further processes will be smooth as well. thanks, Sanjeev  

Guestbook Entry for RR, United States

Name
RR
Country
United States
State
Viginia
Comment

I am very happy to inform that I have received my PERM Labor Certification within six weeks of applying for it. This was, of course, preceded by extensive preparatory work, which is very important. I wish to thank the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna for their competent consultation and filing. Both Mr Khanna and Ms Richa Narang, who has been assigned my case, have been very helpful, providing the right advice from time to time.With a large number of immigration attorneys in the market, the situation can be confusing for a prospective green card applicant. I think it is our good fortune that we contacted Mr. Khanna's Law Office. This was by sheer chance while browsing the internet. It has worked out very well. I am hopeful and confident that with the expertise, professionalism and continued assistance of Mr Khanna and his dedicated team, the next stages of the process will be smooth and successful.Thanks once again Rajiv and Richa .

Can EB3 PD be carried to new EB2?

Question details

I filed Perm under EB3 category on 1-Oct-2008. I got an audit. As per your current Perm dates, they are processing Aug'08 audits. Can I file with same employer under EB2? If yes, can I also keep EB3 file running parallelly. Is there a way for me to carry EB3 PD after I-140 Approval,if I file a new EB2? I completed 4yrs 2 months on H1B already. Please suggest me if I can change my employer now to file for EB2 or not. (If there is any way i can carry my EB3 PD for EB2 or not?). My lawyer said they can not change the current EB3 file to EB2 as they did not describe it for EB2 role.

It is logically inconsistent for two jobs from the same company for the same individual. If you have a good, logical, true explanation, there is no law that says you cannot have two PERM apps for the same individual for different jobs with the same company. But you cannot transfer PD until the I-140 is approved. I see no issue with changing jobs right away. You may have just enough time.

PERM Audit

Question details

My perm application filed on July 2010 and got audit on September 2010. My employer sent audit response on October 2010. When I asked my employer how much time I would take then he said that now a days USCIS response within 3-4 months for new cases. How long does a PERM audit take?

The PERM audit can take a lot of time. I just checked with one of our case managers. They tell me that they have no figures for the time it takes between start and end of an audit, but the total decision life cycle (from filing to decision) of an audited case is 2 - 2.5 years.

Guidelines for 7th year extension

Question details

I could not find any guidelines for 7th year extension with the DOL PERM Program. In the six month period - less than 365 days but more than 180 days from the expiry of the six-year limit on my H1B, my company started the PERM process. In that six month period we got an approved I-140 and filed for Adjustment of Status. Would I qualify for 7th year extension ? Please note that I am a citizen of India and I thought there was also a provision for "Per Country Limit".

If you have an I-140 approval and your PD is backed up, you are entitled to a three-year H-1 extension beyond six years. It does not matter when your PERM was filed.

Guestbook Entry for Soni, United States

Name
Soni
Country
United States
State
New jersey
Comment

I would like to thank Mr. Khanna and his PROFESSIONAL team FOR help with my labor CERTIFICATION. I really appreciate the service I got from your office. I would especially like to thank Richa who was very helpful, thorough, prompt, diligent and very professional. Mr. Khanna was very detail oriented and pointed out at the smallest issues. I was amazed when I was told how many people review the case before it’s submitted.  Due to this thorough work I got my labor approved in less than a month. I apologize to all who I have not named here for all the hard work they put in.  I would recommend thEm to all my friends and family.

EB2 Schedule A question

Question details

My PERM application just got denied due to the recent layoff in my company. Can I apply EB2 (schedule A) to bypass the labor certification step? Will the recent PERM denial affect the Schedule A application? Is it ok to submit the schedule A application soon or I have to wait for a certain time period?

If you are qualified, you can apply for Schedule A. I cannot think of any way the PERM denial or layoffs could cause any issues and there should be no waiting to file.