PERM Green Card Services &
Processing for Orlando, FL & Beyond from Maney | Gordon,
P.A.
For foreign-born individuals who wish to establish permanent
residence in the United States, there are several ways
to achieve this goal. One of the main ways that permanent
residence can be attained is through a bona fide, long-term
employment opportunity in the US. Whether an immigrant
wants to be a tenured professor at University of Central
Florida or accept a job offer from an Orlando engineering
firm, establishing one’s permanent residence through
employment in the US requires both legal knowledge and
strategy.
In most (but not all) cases, the first step in attaining
permanent residence, or a green
card, through employment is for the employer to apply
for labor certification through the US Department of Labor.
Only employers are allowed to apply for labor certification,
and not the employee seeking permanent US residence. In
2005, a new rule was implemented that requires labor certification
applications to be filed through the Department of Labor’s
PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) system. This
PERM green card process is designed to be more efficient
than the former process, often shortening the wait time
from years to months.
Even though the PERM green card application process is
somewhat streamlined, this is just one step in a long
list of requirements before a foreign citizen can receive
a green card to work in the United States permanently.
Before attempting these steps alone, it is recommended
that Orlando, Florida area employers and employees contact
an immigration
lawyer from Maney | Gordon, P.A.
To show you the complexity of the PERM green card process,
the following is a partial list of requirements that will
be scrutinized by the Department of Labor and US Citizenship
and Immigration Services:
- The US employer must make a determined effort to
fill the open position with a person from the existing
American workforce (essentially proving that there are
no US workers available to fill the position).
- The US employer must show the recruitment efforts
used to reach Americans searching for a job (such as
newspaper ads, in-house job postings, etc.)
- The Department of Labor must be convinced that the
foreign-born worker receiving a permanent
resident visa (or green card) will not displace
US workers who are qualified and willing to take the
job.
- The wage offered to the foreign national must meet
the standards of the US Department of Labor (to ensure
that hiring immigrants will not depress the wages earned
by American workers).
- The job offered to the immigrant must be legitimate,
full time, and permanent.
- The employer must show that the company is financially
sound and able to hire the immigrant as a permanent
employee.
Electronic PERM green card filing may have brought more
efficiency to the immigration system, but the process
is still complex, difficult, and time-consuming. Furthermore,
it is common for US employers and foreign nationals to
spend years trying to navigate through US immigration
law, only to be rejected because of a technicality.
If you are an employer or foreign national in the greater
Orlando, Florida area and you would like a free initial
consultation about the PERM green card process, employment
eligibility verification, visa law, or any other immigration
issue, please contact a lawyer from Maney | Gordon, P.A.
today.
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