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According to the Labor Department:

For purposes of § 656.17(i)(3), the provision on actual minimum requirements, the term "domestic" is being used as an alternative for "United States."

For admission into the United States in a specialty occupation, an individual must meet the academic and occupational requirements. While the requirements for classification as an H-1B include licensure, requirements for classification as an H-1B1 nonimmigrant professional do not include licensure. Licensure to practice a given profession in the United States is a post-entry requirement subject to enforcement by the appropriate state or other sub-federal authority. Proof of licensure to practice in a given profession in the United States may be offered along with a job offer letter, or other documentation in support of an application for an H-1B1 visa.

I have a case number but it begins with a "T", the Public Disclosure System says I need a D- or P- case number. What should I do?

According to the Labor Department:

Until cases were fully data entered, they may have had numbers that began with a "T". These case numbers have since been converted and now begin with a "D" if the case is located in the Dallas BEC or a "P" if the case is in the Philadelphia BEC. The state in which the case was originally filed will determine the location of the appropriate BEC. You can check here to determine which state has your case, or you can try both a D and a P prefix to see which returns your case.

Under certain circumstances, non-U.S. citizens are permitted to enter the U.S. without a visa (see section on Travel Without a Visa, e.g., Visa Waiver (for visitors), Citizens of Bermuda, Citizens of Canada, Citizens of Mexico, Citizens of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands).

However, unless a non-U.S. citizen qualifies for one of those travel without a visa provisions, the general requirement is that in order for a non-U.S. citizen to work in the United States for any period of time, receive training, or study, or visit the country: he or she must obtain an appropriate temporary visa.

In the wake of the enforcement of the Adam Walsh Protection Act , the American Embassy in Japan, as well as all other Embassies and Consulates, can No Longer accept I-130 Immigrant Visa Petitions.

According to the Labor Department:

Send the above information to the appropriate BEC based on where the case was filed. The information should be addressed:

For Philadelphia BEC:
ATTN: No BEC Contact – Case Documentation
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
1 Belmont Avenue, Suite 200
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

For Dallas BEC:
ATTN: No BEC Contact – Case Documentation
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
700 North Pearl St., Suite 400N
Dallas, Texas 75201

Why must the advertisement medium be different in order for advertisements to be counted as additional steps? For instance why is it not permissible to count advertisements on two separate web sites as two steps or to place a third advertisement in the same newspaper of general circulation rather than using a local or ethnic publication and have it count as an additional step?

According to the Labor Department:

As with all the recruitment requirements, the purpose of requiring the employer to use three additional recruitment steps is to ensure that the greatest number of able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers are apprised of the job opportunity. It should be noted that each of the steps may target slightly different applicant populations. Using at least three of the additional steps normally used by businesses to recruit workers is a means of apprising a greater number of U.S. applicants of the job opportunity and more adequately substantiates an employer's claim there are no available U.S. workers for the job offer.

For admission into the United States in a specialty occupation, an individual must meet the academic and occupational requirements. While the requirements for classification as an H-1B include licensure, requirements for classification as an H-1B1 nonimmigrant professional do not include licensure. Licensure to practice a given profession in the United States is a post-entry requirement subject to enforcement by the appropriate state or other sub-federal authority.

According to the Labor Department:

No, only cases currently open and in process at the BEC are eligible.

However, if the employer is using the "No BEC Contact" procedure to reconstruct a case or the "Reopen" procedure to request reopen for a case you believe was closed in error as described in prior FAQs, you may submit your RIR conversion request and supporting documentation along with your reconstructed case. If requesting RIR conversion with another action, employer submissions should be clear that multiple actions are being requested, and documentation for each should be provided.

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) is a type of temporary protection from removal which is granted to individuals from designated countries. It is similar to TPS; however, unlike TPS, DED is designated by the Office of the President of the United States of America, as a constitutional power to conduct foreign relations. On the other hand, with respect to TPS, the Secretary of Homeland Security can designate a country for TPS.

Only the President can designate DED for nationals of a particular country by Executive Order or Presidential Memorandum. DED was first used in 1990. It has been used a total of five times. At the time of this writing, 17-Sep-2006: there are no countries currently designated under DED.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has signed up with a travel industry lobby group to prepare a package of "big and bold" reforms to U.S. visa and border rules.

The aim of the reforms is to make it easier for global travelers to visit the United States.

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According to the Labor Department:

The initial step for the BEC will be to conduct a search to reconfirm that the BEC does not have the case in question.

If a case is NOT found, an e-mail will be sent to the employer or attorney indicating that the case could not be located and will provide instructions regarding what information the employer should provide. You will be required to send the following information (via regular mail) to the BEC:

A "specialty occupation" for E-3 visa purposes is generally an occupation which requires a bachelor's or higher degree in a specific specialty, such as a teacher, physician, computer programmer, engineer, accountant, etc. The more technical definition of a "specialty occupation" is an occupation which requires:

1. A theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge, and
2. The attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States.

Can business necessity be used to justify requirements which exceed the occupation's Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) and/or are not normal to the occupation involved in the employer's application?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, business necessity is a means to justify requirements which are not normal to the occupation and/or exceed the SVP. While the job opportunity's requirements, as a rule, must be those normally required for the occupation and must not exceed the SVP level assigned to the occupation as shown in the O*Net Job Zones, business necessity may be used to justify requirements not normal to the occupation and/or which exceed the SVP.

NOTE: Business necessity can be established by the employer demonstrating that the job duties and requirements bear a reasonable relationship to the occupation in the context of the employer’s business and are essential to perform the job in a reasonable manner.

The BECs have sent all 45-Day Center Receipt Notification Letters (CRNL) to employers or their attorneys for cases shipped to the BECs by State and Regional Offices. OFLC recognizes that there may be some employers or their agents that believe they should have an application pending but have still heard nothing and received no information from the appropriate BEC about the application. In order to provide employers with the opportunity to have their case processed while also guarding against potential fraud, OFLC has established specific steps for employers or their attorneys to follow.

Under certain circumstances, non-U.S. citizens are permitted to enter the U.S. without a visa (see section on Travel Without a Visa, e.g., Visa Waiver (for visitors), Citizens of Bermuda, Citizens of Canada, Citizens of Mexico, Citizens of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands).

What if an employer has already had their RIR status denied, or has attempted to convert to RIR previously, is such an application eligible for RIR conversion?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes. If the employer is able to remedy the shortcomings in the pattern of recruitment or documentation, requests for RIR conversion may be made even if RIR was denied previously up until the BEC begins supervised recruitment on the application, at which time the case is no longer eligible for conversion.

NO. Neither a Re-entry Permit, nor a green card (for trips taking less than one year), nor the "special immigrant" visa, will guarantee that a permanent resident will be readmitted to the U.S.

 

Remember: the immigration inspector at the port of entry always has the right to refuse entry to any permanent resident if he or she deems that the individual has either abandoned the intent to remain permanently in the U.S., or has committed a crime, or falls within one of the grounds for exclusion under U.S. immigration law.

The Department of Labor published a set of FAQs regarding the RIR Conversion Opportunity, i.e., the "hold harmless" or "safe harbor" recruitment period for converting traditional labor certification cases to Reduction in Recruitment. Note that in order to take advantage of this opportunity: "No later than January 20, 2007, the applicant or its designated attorney [must] send an e-mail to the appropriate BEC using the language specified (see question 9 below) indicating its intent to convert a TR case to RIR status." AND: "The applicant or its designated representative sends the RIR conversion package to the appropriate BEC in hard copy, by regular mail, certified mail, or mail courier, with the subject “RIR Conversion Package – [case number]” no later than April 1st, 2007. If no package is postmarked for receipt by this date, the case will be closed. These applications do not revert to the TR queue and the decision to close is not subject to appeal." See below for the FAQs.

According to Presidential Determination No. 2007–8 of December 14, 2006:

Pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 2601(c)(1), I hereby determine that it is important to the national interest that up to $5.215 million be made available from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs resulting from conflicts in Somalia and Sri Lanka. These funds may be used, as appropriate, to provide contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and, as necessary, for administrative expenses of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.