10/18/2007

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) issued its Performance Report for the period of March 28, 2005 to September 30, 2006. The purpose of the Report, dated August 2007, is to provide details on the Department of Labor's (DOL's) Foreign Labor Certification Programs, and to highlight the patterns and trends among employers and foreign workers.

Through the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the DOL works to fulfill two goals: (1) aid employers in hiring, if U.S. workers are unavailable and (2) protect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers. To facilitate these goals, the ETA has Foreign Labor Certification Programs for both temporary and permanent employment. Certification by the FLC can be the first step towards obtaining employment-based admission to work in the United States. On a temporary basis, foreign nationals may be admitted under H1B status for skilled workers, as well as other, unskilled temporary statuses. Employers also seek certification from the FLC for the purpose of permanent employment under PERM.

The DOL implemented the PERM labor certification process, effective March 28, 2005. The Report focuses primarily on the first full year of data collection after implementation, from October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006. For that reporting period, the FLC indicates that the Chicago and Atlanta National Processing Centers were adjudicating applications consistently with each other, suggesting to the FLC that efficiencies were created as a result of the reengineering of the labor certification (LC) process.

The FLC states that, during the reporting period, 85,204 cases were certified with the top five states of intended employment being California, New York, Florida, Texas, and New Jersey. Interestingly, 82.4 percent of all LCs are for individuals already in the U.S. in nonimmigrant status, such as H1B. 

The positions of Computer Software Engineers (Applications and Systems) and Computer Systems Analyst were the top occupations for which LCs were filed. The country of origin with the most workers seeking labor certifications was India, more than triple the next represented group of China.

The most common temporary LC program is in connection with H1B petitions. The H1B program is for specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree. While a labor market test generally is not required, the employer must make certain attestations as to conditions of employment that are regulated by the FLC. Employers must attest that the wage offered is at least equal to the actual wage paid by the employer to other workers with similar experience and qualifications for the job; or, alternatively, the prevailing wage for the occupation in the area of intended employment, whichever is greater.