PERM is the first step in the green card process for most employment-based applicants. This requires the employer to conduct a recruitment campaign in good faith to demonstrate that there are no available, willing and qualified US workers to fill the position in question. To submit a PERM application (ETA 9089) the employer is first…
Tag Archives: PERM labor certification
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USCIS Expected To Use All Available Employment Based Green Cards This Fiscal Year
Last year USCIS came under heavy criticism for failing to issue all available employment-based green cards. Due to the pandemic, most Consulates were closed or operating at a reduced capacity which meant that unused family-based visas rolled over into the employment-based green cards. This was great news. Typically, there are 140,000 employment-based green cards available…
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Department of State announces waiver of interviews for certain non-immigrant visas
Obtaining an interview at almost any consulate outside of the U.S. has been almost impossible due to the ongoing pandemic and as a result, many have been left unable to return to the U.S. To help facilitate the issuance of visas and clear the backlog, the Department of State announced that they would waive the…
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Interfiling Versus Filing A New I-485 In Order To Switch Employment Categories
This article has been updated, please visit the link below: How To Make An Interfile Request To Switch Employment Categories By now most people are familiar with the concept of filing a downgrade application from EB-2 to EB-3. However, last October so many applicants filed downgrades, that the demand for EB-3 green cards, has far…
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Green Card Applicants Now Required To Get COVID-19 Vaccine Before Obtaining I-693 Medical Exam
Effective October 1, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will now require all applicants seeking permanent residence to complete the COVID-19 vaccine and provide documentation to the civil surgeon before completing their medical exam. This includes applicants filing for adjustment of status in the US and those applying via consular processing. However,…
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Important Considerations When Switching Jobs And Filing I-485, Supp J.
For employment-based candidates, switching jobs during the green card process is possible, once the I-485 has been pending for 180 days, without having to go through the arduous PERM process and I-140 filing. The portability rules allow an applicant to switch jobs once the I-485 has been pending for 180 days as long as the…
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DOL Takes A Second Run At Increasing Its Wages
DOL is publishing its Prevailing Wage Rule on January 14, 2021. This rule previously went into effect on October 8, 2020, without any notice and significantly increased the DOL wages. For further details of this rule please refer to our previous article, published on October 9, 2020. https://patellegal.com/dols-interim-final-rule-implements-higher-prevailing-wage-rates/ After the above rule was published, we…
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USCIS Provides Clarity On How It Calculates A Child’s Age Under The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
USCIS recently updated its policy manual regarding the CSPA, to provide clarity on how it calculates a child’s age and the “sought to acquire requirement.” The CSPA provides age-out protection for children who are affected by the delay in adjudicating applications. Because of the long processing times the CSPA can prevent a child aging out…
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October 2020 Visa Bulletin Is Finally Out And It Is Good News!
As many of you are already aware, the delayed October 2020 visa bulletin is finally out and it is good news. This fiscal year, there are 261,500 employment-based visas, compared to the usual allotted 140,000. This is as a direct result of an infusion of the unused family-based numbers from FY2020. USCIS has also confirmed…