BALCA Applies Recent Legal Decision to PERM Case Denied Five Years Ago

The permanent labor certification process (PERM) allows employers to hire foreign nationals to work permanently in the United States. Prior to filing a PERM application for a foreign worker with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. employers must conduct a cumbersome recruitment process to first attempt to hire a U.S. worker. For applications involving a professional occupation, the employer must complete two mandatory recruitment steps, as well as three of ten additional steps. The regulations apply rigorous content requirements to the recruitment steps. Last year, in Matter of Symantec Corp., 2011-PER-1856 (July 30, 2014), the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA), which is responsible for reviewing PERM denials, held that the content requirements do not apply to the additional recruitment steps, but only to the mandatory steps.

Read more detail about this retrospective action at our Immigration blog.