DOL Trying to Impose PERM Fee
Posted Feb 09, 2007
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting a legislative proposal to Congress to request imposition of a PERM processing fee. DOL must ask Congress to pass a bill, rather than simply propose a regulation as USCIS has done in its effort to increase fees. The reason DOL must first go to Congress is that the DOL have never been authorized to collect fees for PERM processing. Unlike the USCIS proposed rule on fee increases [See  Proposed Significant Increase in USCIS Filing Fees, also published Feb 09, 2007 for MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin.], which will require a public comment period and second review by the OMB, the DOL proposal requires that Congress pass a bill. The President, then, must sign that bill into law. The USCIS already has the authority to collect fees for case processing, as most MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers know from personal experience.
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Earlier Scare of Very High DOL Fees
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There was a fear that at one time that the DOL fee to process labor certifications would be one-third of the DOL-mandated annual prevailing wage for the position. This would have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in fees for a single employee just to obtain labor certification and then more time and money for continuing in the permanent residency process. Fortunately, that proposal did not progress for several reasons; including concern that part of the DOL's work is protecting the U.S. labor market and the wages and conditions for U.S. workers.
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Reasons DOL Fee is Unlikely
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It is not clear whether Congress will be willing to impose a PERM fee, particularly in light of the substantial fee increases proposed by USCIS. Congress is already holding a committee meeting on the fees proposed by USCIS. We will monitor this matter and update MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers, as appropriate. More importantly, the purpose of the labor process is considered to be the protection of the U.S. worker. Collecting fees from employers or employees going through the labor certification process may cause a blurring of the lines delineating exactly who the DOL serves. So, in principle, there has been some resistance to imposing a DOL fee for processing labor certifications.