Interagency Government Panel Updates : AILA Annual Conference 2009   Posted Jun 12, 2009 ©MurthyDotCom A panel comprised of senior government officials presented updates on key issues at the 2009 AILA Annual Conference, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following are updates from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS), summarized for readers of MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin. ©MurthyDotCom U.S. Department of Labor Wants to Streamline ©MurthyDotCom William Carlson, Administrator of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification of the Employment Training Administration of the DOL, shared his update. The DOL wants to reduce the timeframe for providing documents to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Mr. Carlson mentioned that they would like to use technology for the required job order postings by the DOL and add transparency to the labor certification process. ©MurthyDotCom DOL's Processing of PERM Cases ©MurthyDotCom The DOL’s statistics provide insight into the backlogs and approval rates for PERM labor certification cases. The statistics reflect that, between October and December 2008, the DOL received far more cases than it adjudicated. During that timeframe, the DOL received over 20,700 applications; but completed only 4,571. The DOL reports having a pending labor certification caseload of 53,200, as of December 2008. Of these, 26 percent are undergoing audits. This type of backlog and high rate of audits is consistent with the information provided to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers in our January 23, 2009 article, PERM Processing Delays. ©MurthyDotCom Results : Lowered Approval Rate ©MurthyDotCom Statistics on the outcomes of PERM applications were released by the DOL. The results were broken down into certified, denied, or withdrawn. The cumulative approval rate, since the program began in March 2005, is 76 percent. However, the approval rate for the last quarter of calendar year 2008 was 67 percent. It is not clear if the change is a result of the economy or of additional auditing. ©MurthyDotCom This statistic emphasizes the need to engage qualified immigration attorneys in the PERM process. It is a complex, highly-regulated procedure in which, under these recent statistics, one-third of the cases receive denials. The Murthy Law Firm is experienced with labor certifications, and the complex issues that often arise in these cases. Our attorneys are able to help both employers and employees under the law. ©MurthyDotCom U.S. Department of State Update Jeffrey Gorsky, Chief Advisory Opinions and Regulation at the DOS Visa Office, shared these helpful updates. The new initiatives of the DOS are the Form DS-160 for electronic student visa application and greater sharing of information among the various federal agencies. In the interest of transparency, the DOS will continue to share non-security related cables and memos. Additionally, the DOS Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) is online. ©MurthyDotCom Visa records generally are exempt from FOIA requests. Consular officers are able to communicate directly with visa applicants and attorneys. The DOS Visa Office has a direct line of communication for attorneys on visa-related legal matters. We at the Murthy Law Firm regularly use this resource, when appropriate, to help resolve complex legal issues at the consulates for our clients. ©MurthyDotCom Security Clearance Delays by DOS and Waiver of Personal Appearance ©MurthyDotCom Concerns were raised over the visa delay problems faced by scientists. These delays are interfering with scientific conferences and causing disruption in the academic and scientific arenas in general. Mr. Gorsky expressed his concern and stated that strides have been made toward addressing these issues. The entire clearance process has been moved online, with no paper documents to be misplaced or cause delays among the involved agencies. ©MurthyDotCom A waiver of personal appearance for visa interviews is being instituted. The requirement for biometrics is now going to be only one per person, rather than one with each visa application. ©MurthyDotCom Pre-Emptive Security Clearance Not Possible at Consulate ©MurthyDotCom When asked about the possibility of obtaining an advance security clearance before departing the U.S. to apply for a visa, Mr. Gorsky responded that the DOS cannot process a visa application if the candidate is not before the consulate. The DOS workload makes it impossible for them to review and adjudicate cases when the candidate is not applying for the visa at the U.S. consular post abroad. ©MurthyDotCom Conclusion ©MurthyDotCom We at the Murthy Law Firm appreciate the contributions of the senior government officials who attended and spoke at this year's AILA Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, and their sharing of updates on various federal agencies. It is helpful that they acknowledge the need for FOIA requests to be accelerated for efficiency and in order to comply with the law. The DOS’s ability to address security checks for visa applications in a prompt manner is extremely important. There apparently is support from the current administration for these efforts and we hope to see improvements in the near future. Copyright © 2009, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved
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