Shopper Alert: PERM Denials on the Rise – Travel and Worksite Points Beneath Scrutiny

U.S. employers submitting PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) Labor Certification Applications at the moment are going through elevated scrutiny relating to how they disclose travel-related job necessities on Form ETA 9089. Recently, the Department of Labor (DOL) has begun denying PERM functions—with out audit—for allegedly incomplete or inconsistent disclosure of journey necessities.

The DOL now seems to take the place that any journey requirement, no matter significance, should be disclosed as a separate worksite location on Form ETA 9089. This shift is regarding, because the company had permitted functions with out such element for the previous two years and has offered no formal discover of this variation in adjudication practices.

So far, the next particular points have been recognized:

• Travel is talked about in recruitment ads and the Form ETA 9141 Prevailing Wage Determination, however omitted from the worksites listed on Form ETA 9089.




• Travel necessities are imprecise or broadly outlined, prompting DOL questions in regards to the frequency, nature, length, and objective of the journey.




• Various worksite areas are listed with out ample specificity, main the DOL to query the meant space(s) of employment.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has acknowledged this pattern. However, regardless of continued advocacy, the DOL has not modified its place to this point.

Recommended Steps:

McLane Middleton recommends that employers with pending PERM functions involving journey—the place particular areas will not be listed as worksites on Form ETA 9089—take into account submitting a brand new Prevailing Wage Request (PWR) with the DOL as a precautionary measure. For any broad or undefined journey necessities, employers ought to refine these particulars earlier than submitting a brand new PWR.

For future PERM functions, employers ought to fastidiously consider whether or not journey is a daily and important a part of the place and embrace it as a requirement solely when applicable. In at this time’s setting, employers ought to anticipate continued heightened scrutiny of PERM functions and past. If you may have questions or would really like extra info, please click on right here to contact a member of our Immigration crew.