Update from AILA/DOL Liaison Committee (10/19/04)
Posted by Jeff Xie on October 26, 2004 at 18:22:13
Update from the AILA/DOL-ETA Liaison Committee
prepared October 19, 2004 As many of you are now aware, the Regional Offices in Dallas and Philadelphia have moved to the new Backlog Reduction Centers in those areas. The Centers are in the process of data entry of the cases from the two Regional Offices. Additionally, 20,000 cases are being transferred from the San Francisco Regional Office to be processed by the Backlog Reduction Center(s). This represents the USDOL decision to use a first in/first out approach to the backlog while maintaining two tracks, one for traditional and one for RIR cases. We expect the Centers to issue letters to employers and their representatives in connection with the completion of data entry. These letters will provide notice as to where the cases are located and request updated information for further processing. We previously advised you of the USDOL's position on the need for timeliness and completeness in the responses to these letters and the possible harsh consequences of failure to comply. Practice Pointer: Consider submitting changes of address and/or G-28s on applications where this has not been done. On October 8, 2004, the AILA/DOL-ETA Liaison Committee attended a briefing at the new Philadelphia Backlog Reduction Center. The Backlog Reduction Centers are staffed by Regional Office personnel with a large support staff of contractors. We are told that adjudications will be done by the federal staff. A summary of that meeting is posted on InfoNet. A few items of significance, which came out of that meeting and AILA's fall conference on October 15, 2004, are: 1. The Department of Labor is working on an assumption that the PERM regulation will be published by the end of this calendar year. The implementation period contemplated, which we were previously advised would be 120 days, now appears to be 60 days. This change may be tied to the progress made on the facilities for the two "National Processing Centers", previously referred to as PERM Processing Centers. Practice Pointer: If you planned to use the 120 day implementation period to file applications under current regulations, consider an alternative strategy. 2. The two National Processing Centers, located in Atlanta and Chicago, are being built out at this time and should be completed by the end of October 2004. By that time, the Atlanta and Chicago Regional Offices are expected to move with their cases to the new facilities. 3. The role of the State Offices in the permanent Labor Certification program is being phased out, regardless of what happens with the PERM regulation. It is clear that the goal is to have all applications processed at the federal level through the two National Processing Centers and for a temporary period, until January 2006, through the New York and San Francisco Regional Offices. If the PERM regulation is published as it is now understood, we will no longer file with the states. If the PERM regulation is not published, pursuant to the Interim Final Rule of July 21, 2004, the states would continue to accept cases, but would no longer open and process new cases after January 1, 2005. Those cases would then be forwarded to one of the National Processing Centers in Atlanta or Chicago. 4. The USDOL recently provided "FY2005 Transitional Guidance" to the states describing the phase out of the states from the permanent program.
Cite as "Posted on AILA InfoNet at Doc. No. 04102614 (Oct. 26, 2004) ."
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