DOL Update : November 2005
Posted Dec 09, 2005
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As regular readers of MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin are aware from our past reports, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) officials involved with the labor certification process meet periodically with certain members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). The purpose of these meetings is to address certain procedural and policy matters in the labor certification process. What follows is a summary of some of the issues that are of interest to our readers.
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PERM Processing Timelines
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The DOL reported that PERM labor certifications are meeting the processing goal of 45 to 60 days. They prefer electronic filings over paper filings. They are receiving greater numbers of paper filings than expected, however.
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They state that the 45-to-60-day timeframe is for cases that are clean, or without issues. When a case does not fit within this standard, the timelines may vary. Additionally, cases that were filed early in the PERM process may take longer than more recently filed cases. The DOL is looking into this to try to discern patterns and problems. They indicate that there should not be any substantial difference in processing times between the two PERM processing centers.
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Check Priority Dates : BPCs
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There have been some problems with respect to the priority dates entered into the system for some of the cases at the Backlog Processing Centers (BPCs). These are primarily data entry errors, according to DOL. These sometimes appear on the screenshots used for H1B seventh-year extensions. Since these extensions depend upon the date of the filing of the labor certification, it is vital that this date be correct. The DOL has instituted a procedure for double checking this matter before the screenshots are sent. People receiving the screenshots should review them for accuracy. The 45-day letters should also be checked for this purpose.
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45-Day Letter Progress
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The DOL previously indicated December 31, 2005 as their timeframe for issuing all 45-day letters for cases at the BPCs. Many cases have not yet received the 45-day letter. The DOL reports that they have attained either full or partial data entry on all cases. This allows for the generation of the screenshot. They will not, however, be able to meet the goal of having all 45-day letters issued by the end of the year. They are now processing 700 to 1,000 cases per day for complete data entry and issuance of the 45-day letter. If they continue at this pace, they expect to issue all 45-day letters by June 2006.
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Murthy Law Firm Backlog Experiences
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A series of articles on the approvals received at the Murthy Law Firm from the BPCs is available on MurthyDotCom. The most recent of these is our November 25, 2005 MurthyBulletin article, Status of Labor Certifications at the BPCs: mid-October to mid-November 2005. We continue to track our BPC and PERM approvals. The DOL is unable to report the dates of the cases they are processing until they finish all of the data entry and issue all of the 45-day letters. Thus, we are providing the best available information on this matter at this time for our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.