10/9/2008

Beginning from 10/1/2008, employers and their representatives will not be able to file and obtain certification of the Labor Condition Applications for H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 Nonimmigrants, ETA 9035E unless the employer and the representative first file and complete registration online. Registration may not take too much time, but some employers and representatives may need extra time. 

People must have noticed the alert on the online Labor Condition Application site: Effective October 1, 2008, you must be a registered user to submit a Labor Condition Application (LCA) ETA Form 9035E through the LCA Online System. The LCA Online System will no longer accept electronic applications submitted by non-registered users on or after October 1, 2008.

DOL has been developing a new ETA 9035E form which incorporates the account system for the employers and the legal representatives, which will take effect on January 1, 2009. However, as they disclosed it earlier, they were planning on implementing the account system even earlier than January 1, 2009 using the current ETA 9035E form. Requirement for registration for filing of ETA 9035E effective 10/01/2008 reflects such changes. Additionally, the employers and the legal representatives should be prepared to deal with potential delays in obtaining the certification of ETA 9035E, even before January 1, 2009. 

Last minute filing of LCA may turn risky in the future, even though they have yet to announce the specific date when such delayed processing of LCA will be launched. Registration requirement may be taken as an overture of the upcoming changes. Currently online PERM filing requires such registration which has caused some delays for the registration alone, not to mention the delays in certification of the applications.