Business Immigration Insights

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, US immigration agencies have continued offering minor, but welcome, accommodations to individuals affected by COVID-19 who rely on immigration programs. While there are no groundbreaking changes, here is a roundup of the most notable changes in the last two months.

The US Department of Labor (USDOL) has published its statistics for fiscal year 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018. The USDOL certified the majority of the 119,776 labor certification (PERM) applications processed in the last fiscal year. Of the 24,052 applications still in process with the USDOL as of the end of the fiscal year, 64% were still in analyst review and 25% were in audit review. The majority of PERM applications were for: computer and mathematics occupations; positions in California and Texas; positions in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services or ...

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (“BALCA”) determines employers’ appeals of prevailing wage determinations and labor certification (“PERM”) denials during sponsorship of foreign nationals for employment-based green cards.  In a recently decided case, BALCA upheld a PERM denial because the employer failed to interview a potentially qualified U.S. worker during the mandatory labor market test for the sponsored position.  BALCA said that employers have a duty to investigate further when the resume raises a "reasonable ...