DOL Facilitates RIR Conversion of Regular LC Cases
Posted Dec 15, 2006
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced in early December 2006 that it intends to put a procedure in place that will permit employers to more easily convert regular, non-reduction-in- recruitment (traditional recruitment, or TR) labor certifications to reduction-in-recruitment (RIR) labor certifications. This only impacts labor certifications (LCs) that are pending at the DOL backlog processing centers (BPCs) that were initially filed without advertisements and other recruitment efforts. Thus, it does not impact PERM cases in any way. Conversion is not a new procedure; it is an improvement on a process that was expanded in October 2006. Essentially, the new procedure will place the case on hold for a short time so that the employer's recruitment procedures can be conducted without the risk that this will be wasted effort.
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Background on Conversion Process
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The DOL permitted conversion for all BPC, non-RIR cases in October 2006. This was reported in our October 13, 2006 MurthyBulletin article, RIR Conversions Possible for Most Labor Certifications at BPCs, available on MurthyDotCom. Put simply: TR cases are LCs for which the employer has not engaged in efforts to locate U.S. workers prior to filing. These cases must undergo efforts to recruit U.S. workers, according to instructions given by the DOL and under the supervision of the DOL. RIR cases undergo recruitment efforts prior to submission and request that the DOL accept those efforts as a sufficient test of the labor market in determining whether to approve the LC. The conversion procedure allows the employer to change a TR case by advertising and then requesting that the case be changed to RIR. Based on processing times over the last several years, RIR cases generally move faster than TR cases.
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Change Eliminates Risk of Wasted Costs and Effort
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There was risk in using the conversion procedure, however, before the recent DOL announcement in that, if the DOL initiated recruitment instructions before the conversion request was submitted, the efforts to convert (and the costs involved) would be wasted. That is, the conversion request could only be submitted up until the time that the DOL issued instructions for conducting supervised recruitment. It takes time to engage in the advertisements and other efforts necessary prior to submitting the conversion request. Thus, a company might complete all of the advertising, and be ready to submit a conversion request, only to receive recruitment instructions from the DOL. Once the instructions are received, the conversion cannot be requested.
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To address this problem, the DOL plans to establish a window of safety for those employers who want to convert their cases to RIR. These employers will be able to notify the DOL that they plan to request conversion. They will then have a window of time to submit the conversion. The DOL will not initiate recruitment instructions during this time, so the employer will know that recruitment efforts will not be wasted. The DOL has stated that this window period will not be long, as they do not want any unnecessary delays in the processing of the BPC labor certifications.
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Conclusion : Conversion Attractive
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This change, once in effect, makes the conversion possibility more attractive. Those with TR cases pending at a BPC may wish to inquire about this possibility and discuss the available options with a knowledgeable, qualified immigration attorney. If you do not have an attorney and wish to inquire about our consultation procedures at the Murthy Law Firm, please eMail law@murthy.com.