DOL Proposal to Revise PERM Form ETA 9089
Posted Sep 14, 2007
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a revised Form ETA 9089 on August 24, 2007, as a proposed regulation, providing for a 60-day comment period. Form ETA 9089 (the PERM labor certification form) is used by U.S. employers to file labor certifications for current or prospective foreign national workers. The filing of the labor certification is generally considered the first major step in the green card process.
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Suggestions for Revisions to the PERM Form
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As was reported to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers in our April 27, 2007 article, Murthy Law Firm Submits Proposal to Revise PERM Form, a proposal to revise Form ETA 9089 was submitted by our firm to a taskforce comprised of members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Our proposal, along with comments from other organizations, was later forwarded by AILA to the DOL, which is the agency in charge of maintaining and administering the form. The DOL incorporated some of the changes from AILA, including some submitted by the Murthy Law Firm, and published the new, revised form, seeking comments from interested persons and organizations. Our firm is now in the process of submitting comments to the DOL during the 60-day review period that will close on October 23, 2007.
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Proposals from the Murthy Law Firm Incorporated in the Revised Form ETA 9089
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Some of the changes our firm submitted to the DOL through AILA include: providing for experience in multiple occupations as a primary requirement (before, only the job offered could be the primary requirement); eliminating the need for special descriptive language when it should not be required (which previously may have resulted in inappropriate denials); replacing the response option "years of experience" with "months of experience," better reflecting the true requirement; adding a separate question regarding required travel and relocation; and creating a special section pertaining to licenses and/or certifications, which better reflects the situation when a license is required but the job requires no experience. These are positive changes that should help U.S. employers, employees, and their attorneys in answering specific requirements and overcoming possible difficulties in filling out the PERM application.
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Conclusion
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We consider the revised Form ETA 9089 to be a positive step towards addressing long-existing problems in filling out the PERM application form. As every person's situation is different, and the requirements for the labor certification eligibility are highly complex, attorneys and petitioners often have been unable to overcome the deficiencies in the current Form ETA 9089. The new Form ETA 9089, however, may require some further revisions to make it more user-friendly over the long term.