What ‘Japa’ hopefuls need to know about PERM processing time

The “Japa” syndrome is real in Nigeria and many are leaving the country to other countries to live better lives for themselves and their families. Those who have not left yet are dreaming of leaving and so it continues. The United States of America is one of the hottest destinations for japarians. The lucky ones are either applying for jobs or looking for permanent residency. This is where PERM processing time comes in.

What is PERM processing time? Is it connected to travelling to the U.S.? You will get your answers when you read this article.

Table of Content hide 1What is PERM processing time? 1.1Steps to follow in PERM processing 1.1.1Employer 1.1.2Obtain prevailing wage determination from the Department of Labor 1.1.3Recruitment 1.1.4ETA Form 9089 filing 2Current PERM processing time 2.1How to check PERM processing status 3Finally…

What is PERM processing time?

PERM is an abbreviation for “Program Electronic Review Management”. PERM processing is an integral part of getting a green card or permanent residency in the U.S. through employment. PERM processing is a legitimate way for foreign nationals to obtain a labour certificate. This is because the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has strict regulations regarding the circumstances under which someone can receive a Green Card.

The regulation states that an employee must be hired by an American citizen before he or she can be eligible to be awarded green cards or permanent residency. In addition, the employer must prove that they are unable to hire a qualified American citizen before going for a foreign national.

The DOL will now conduct a labour market test to determine which jobs employers should offer to foreign nationals. Then DOL will clear an employee’s approved Permanent Labor Certification before their employer can begin the application for a Green Card.

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Steps to follow in PERM processing

PERM processing takes a long time and it takes several steps to get results. Below are the steps that comprise PERM processing:

Employer

The first step in this lengthy process is that an employer must advertise a job position. The job description must detail all the minimum requirements for that job location. Part of the description must also include the necessary attributes of the ideal candidate plus an overview of the existing recruitment process. The time of this process depends on the employer. Most employers take a month or two to complete this step.

Obtain prevailing wage determination from the Department of Labor

In this step, the employer must acquire a prevailing wages determination (PWD) from the DOL. This is documentation that informs the employer how much they need to pay a foreign national they are about to hire. The DOL also has an Online Wage Library in which they will compare the employer’s job description to other similar jobs on the following criteria:

• Experience
• Region
• Required management
• Skillset
• Education

The U.S. features different job markets with unique average wages. Therefore, each job must be similar to these criteria to track differing costs of living. It can take four to five months for the DOL to give an employer a PWD. The time frame can even be extended if the employer does not agree with its assigned PWD. When this happens, the employer will have to advertise fresh job recruitment. The other option is to request a reassessment to get to a PWD with which they agree.

Meanwhile, employers usually wait until the PWD is given before beginning the recruitment process. Sometimes, they do both at the same time which is legal as long as the approved Perm Labor Certificate (LC) has been filed before the PWD expires.

Recruitment

This is the stage where an employer files an LC for a foreign national. By law, the employer has 60 to 180 days to file an LC. It is advised to begin the recruitment process at the same time as PERM processing. This will enable the employer to get the necessary documentation before the stipulated deadline. Failure to meet the 180 days deadline will mean starting the process all over again otherwise, the employer will not be able to recruit a foreign national. In other words, DOL does not have an LC that is older than 180 days.

ETA Form 9089 filing

The ETA Form 9089 gives DOL information about the job ad, recruitment process and the prospective foreign national. Once it is filed, it can take a few months to adjudicate PERM. The complete filing will give any of the following three results:

• Approval of PERM
• Denial of PERM
• Audit review of PERM

For audit review, DOL will require additional information from the employer to reevaluate PERM. About 30 per cent of applications are usually sent for audit review by DOL. The review can be either approved or denied. If your application is still denied after the audit review, do not panic as DOL usually randomly denies application to maintain the integrity of the process.

On the other hand, if your application is approved, the employer can go ahead and apply for a Green card for the foreign national. They will have to fill out the Form I-140. The form must be filed within 180 days of the PERM approval.

Current PERM processing time

• For the processing time of the prevailing wage, DOL will take up to 171 days to approve the application.
• Cases, after the prevailing wage is determined, will take about 270 days to be reviewed by expert analysts.
• The recruitment process can take from 60 to 180 days after the PWD.
• For form 9089, DOL takes more than 250 days to adjudicate the PERM. In case there is an audit review, DOL will request additional evidence from the employer which might cause further delay. For now, it takes more than 383 days for DOL to decide on either approving or denying a PERM.

How to check PERM processing status

• Visit the DOL website to see the Department’s monthly estimates of processing time.
•  If your employer filed Form 9089 online, visit the Permanent Case Management System to check the status of their paperwork.
• The employer could call the National Processing Center at 404-893-0101 or email them at plc.atlanta.dol.gov to get information about the PERM status.

Finally…

PERM processing is a long process to apply for a green card or permanent residency in the U.S. It can take over a year to get results, which can be positive or negative. Either way, do not be discouraged. If you are experiencing excessive delays, perhaps it is time to hire an immigration lawyer to help you speed things up. But make sure you contact the help desk of DOL before hiring a lawyer.

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