LABOR CERTIFICATION
For those foreign nationals who do not have relatives in the US, obtaining permanent residence by labor certification remains the primary method of immigration.
Labor certification is a prerequisite for filing for lawful permanent residence under most employment sponsorship (other than priority workers).
Workers who obtain labor certification are deemed to be in short supply and are granted lawful permanent residence for the purpose of accepting employment. Certain professionals are not required to obtain a labor certification in order to immigrate.
- Registered Physical Therapists
- Registered Nurses
- Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
- Outstanding Professors and Researchers
- Intracompany Transferee Executives and Managers
- Religious professionals
- Intra-company Transferees (Executives and Managers)
- Outstanding Professors and Researchers
The Department of Labor also promulgates a list of occupations for which it has determined that no shortage exists. This list is designated "Schedule B" and consists of the following:
SCHEDULE B
Jobs For Which No Shortage Currently Exists
1. Assemblers
2. Attendants, Parking Lot
3. Attendants (Service Workers such as Personal Service Attendants, Amusement and
Recreation Service Attendants)
4. Automobile Service Station Attendants
5. Bartenders
6. Bookkeepers II
7. Caretakers
8. Cashiers
9. Charworkers and Cleaners
10. Chauffeurs and Taxicab Drivers
11. Cleaners, Hotel and Motel
12. Clerks, General
13. Clerks, Hotel
14. Clerks and Checkers, Grocery Stores
15. Clerk Typists
16. Cooks, Short Order
17. Counter and Fountain Workers
18. Dining Room Attendants
19. Electric Truck Operators
20. Elevator Operators
21. Floorworkers
22. Groundskeepers
23. Guards
24. Helpers, any industry
25. Hotel Cleaners
26. Household Domestic Service Workers who lack one year of documented paid experience in the tasks to be performed (except workers providing primarily health or instructional service)
27. Housekeepers
28. Janitors
29. Key Punch Operators
30. Kitchen Workers
31. Laborers, Common
32. Laborers, Farm
33. Laborers, Mine
34. Loopers and Toppers
35. Material Handlers
36. Nurses' Aides and Orderlies
37. Packers, Markers, Bottlers, and Related
38. Porters
39. Receptionists
40. Sailors and Deck Hands
41. Sales Clerks, General
42. Sewing Machine Operators and Handstitchers
43. Stock Room and Warehouse Workers
44. Streetcar and Bus Conductors
45. Telephone Operators
46. Truck Drivers and Tractor Drivers
47. Typists, Lesser Skilled
48. Ushers, Recreation and Amusement
49. Yard Workers
The labor certification process tests the labor market to determine if there is a United States citizen or resident who is willing and qualified to accept the employment. The process is designed to protect American jobs while still making skilled foreign workers available for positions that cannot be filled with domestic workers.
This procedure is supervised and adjudicated by the United States Department of Labor. Some of the basic principles include:
- The job requirements must be reasonably related to the job and must not be tailored to the alien applicant.
- The alien applicant must possess the required education, training, and experience at the time the Application for Alien Labor Certification is filed.
- With few exceptions, the alien must have obtained the qualifying education, training and experience outside of the sponsor's employment.
- Except in the case of business necessity, the job must not involve a combination of duties of two vocations.
- Except in the case of business necessity, the job must not require knowledge of a foreign language.
- Except in the case of business necessity, the job must not require knowledge or experience that cannot by its very nature be obtained in the United States.
LABOR CERTIFICATION ADVANTAGES
Duration
Lawful permanent residence is permanent in duration, unless abandoned by the resident alien failing to live in the United States or by commission of a qualifying crime.
Reside in U.S.
Permanent residents are allowed to reside in the United States, including any location within any of the fifty states.
Work in U.S.
Permanent residents are allowed to work and freely change employment.
Property Rights
Real estate, businesses, and investments may be purchased, owned, or sold by permanent residents.
Sponsor Relatives
Spouses and unmarried sons and daughters may be sponsored for lawful permanent residence under the second preference visa category.
U.S. Citizenship
After holding lawful permanent residence for five years, the permanent resident may file an application to become a citizen of the United States.
College Tuition Reduced
In many states, lawful permanent residents are considered "residents" for tuition purposes and may qualify for reduced "in state" tuition fees.
Homestead Exemption
In many states, lawful permanent residents are considered "residents" and allowed to claim exemptions on the taxation of their homestead property.
U.S. Taxation
A lawful permanent resident of the United States is considered a "resident" for purposes of United States income taxation. Depending upon the taxation laws of the resident's home country, exiting tax treaties, and the resident's own personal financial circumstance, lawful permanent residence may in some, though not all, circumstances result in lower net taxation.
LABOR CERTIFICATION LIMITATIONS
Processing Time
Current processing time for labor certification varies, depending upon the local, state, and regional office involved. Typically the labor certification process takes at least six to nine months before a decision is rendered.
However, the true time constraint is presented by the waiting time for the quota categories. For professional positions, this time can take from being "current" to eighteen months or longer, depending upon the applicant's country of origin.
Those non-professional workers can anticipate a wait of eighteen months or longer.
Viability of Employment Offer
In order to immigrate within the third or sixth preference, the foreign applicant must enter the U.S. for the purpose of assuming the employment for which the labor certification was issued. This may require the employer to hold open the job offer for a substantial time, depending upon the current waiting times in the visa categories.
Summary
Lawful permanent residence affords the highest level of advantages and the greatest flexibility for foreign nationals who seek to enter and remain in the United States.
Useful Links for the Labor Certification Immigrant
- United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - How Do I Apply For Immigrant Status Based on Employment?
- USCIS - How Do I Become a Lawful Permanent Resident While in the United States
- USCIS - How do I Get an Immigrant Visa Number
- U.S. Department of State (DOS) - Visa Bulletin
- U.S. Department of Labor - Foreign Labor Certification
