Labor Certification

Many people move to the United States to work. It’s common for their U.S. employer to sponsor them. The employer has to get permission from the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL has to give the employer a labor certification.

Labor Certification Rules

There are two important things that must be true to get a labor certification.

1. There are not enough U.S. citizen workers who want the job and are qualified to do it.
2. Hiring a non-citizen worker will not negatively affect the pay and working conditions of U.S. citizen workers in similar jobs.

Determine how much to pay

The DOL uses a process called program electronic review management (PERM) to decide. The first step in the PERM process is deciding what the worker should be paid. It’s against the law to pay non-citizen workers less than what is normal for a job. So, the DOL has to decide what pay is normally expected. That’s called the prevailing wage. The DOL looks at what most workers are paid for doing similar jobs.

Advertise the job to U.S. citizen workers

Once the employer knows how much they need to pay for the job, they have to advertise the job to U.S. citizen workers. This is how they are able to prove there aren’t enough qualified U.S. citizen workers who want the job.

Apply for a Labor Certification

When the employer thinks they’ve advertised the job long enough but don’t have anyone to hire, then they can apply for a labor certification. After getting it, the non-citizen worker can apply for a green card.

Contact Us

The DOL pays a lot of attention to the application process, so it’s important to do it right. We know the process and can tell you what forms to fill out and when to do it. Call us at 813-298-7222, email us, fill our contact form, or schedule an appointment.