Are you planning to apply for U.S. lawful permanent residence status as a foreign worker? If so, your employer may be required to submit ETA Form 9089 and have it approved prior to you applying for a green card on the basis of ultimately being employed in that job when you get the green card. Here, we will go through some of the processes leading up to the submission of ETA Form 9089 and what is involved in connection with its completion.
What is ETA Form 9089?
The ETA Form 9089 is submitted at the end of a rather involved process known as the PERM labor certification process. It is a prerequisite to a U.S. employer hiring a foreign worker and petitioning for that worker to be eligible for lawful permanent resident status. The PERM process is in place to protect both foreign and U.S. workers. It is intended to protect U.S. workers by having a process in place that makes sure there are no able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers for a job before a foreign worker is hired. It protects foreign workers by helping to ensure that they are paid fair wages and do not sacrifice legitimate pay for the pathway to lawful permanent residence status.
In order to successfully navigate the PERM process, the employer must submit a prevailing wage request to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). In the request, the employer must detail the prospective offer of employment being made to the foreign worker. This will include the job requirements and duties as well as the location of the worksite. These details are used by DOL to make the prevailing wage determination. This means determining the common wage appropriate for a certain job position in a certain location.
The employer must then comply with the PERM procedure relating to ad placement and recruitment efforts for the job position. You see, as previously stated, the employer must make sure that hiring a foreign worker is not made to the exclusion of an able, qualified, and willing U.S. workers getting the job. The advertising and recruitment requirements of the PERM process are detailed and specific. The employer must show a good faith effort in trying to recruit available U.S. workers for the position.
Should no able, willing and qualified, U.S. employees be found for the job, the employer can complete ETA Form 9089. It can be submitted no quicker than 30 days after the expiration of the most recently placed ad for the job. There will usually be a waiting period of several months while the DOL works to render a decision on the ETA Form 9089. The form may be approved, denied, or require an audit as determined by DOL. Should the PERM be selected for audit, DOL will request that the employer supply further evidence relating to the application. Should the PERM be approved, the employer may proceed with the filing of the I-140 application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Immigration Law Attorneys
If you should have any questions or need more information about the ways in which the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Laws may impact you, your family, your friends or your colleagues, please contact the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Lawyers at the NPZ Law Group – VISASERVE – U.S. Immigration and Nationality Lawyers by e-mailing us at info@visaserve.com or by calling us at 201-670-0006 (x104). You can also visit our Law Firm’s website at www.visaserve.com.