Employer requests the Department of Labor to confirm the “Prevailing Wage” it must pay anyone who works in the position being hired. This amount varies based upon the job itself most importantly, but also the location of the employer and the experience level required. This is customarily prepared by the attorney.
With our assistance, the employer follows steps to “recruit” domestic workers for the position. This means posting ads in the local paper on two Sundays and placing a job order on the State Workforce Authority’s website for a month. A Notice of Filing is posted at the worksite to inform current employees of the vacancy.
The employer, with the help of the attorney, files the certified PERM application and proof of its ability to pay the worker to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”), which reviews those documents to ensure compliance with immigration requirements of the program.
On employer’s behalf, an attorney files Form ETA-9089 to the Department of Labor which shows the two prior steps were done properly and, for the first time, names the employee being hired to fill the role and describes how he or she has the skills and abilities needed to perform the job.
The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) conducts a background check on the employee and his or her accompanying family members. They provide birth and marriage certificates, documents from their country’s equivalent of the FBI to ensure they have no disqualifying criminal record, and proof of vaccinations and lack of communicable diseases issued by a USCIS-authorized civil surgeon in their home country.
