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Statement of Need: The labor certification process has been criticized as being complicated and time-consuming. It can take up to 2 years or more to complete the process; the process requires substantial government resources to administer, and it is reportedly costly and burdensome to employers. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), therefore, is reexamining the effectiveness of the various regulatory requirements and the application processing procedure, with a view to achieving considerable savings in resources both for the Government and employers, without diminishing the significant protections now afforded U.S. workers by the current regulatory and administrative requirements.

Summary of the Legal Basis: Before the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service may issue visas and admit certain immigrant aliens to work permanently in the United States, the Secretary of Labor, pursuant to section 212(a)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), must certify to the Secretary of State and to the Attorney General that: (a) there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available at the time of the application for a visa and admission into the United States and at the place where the alien is to work: and (b) the employment of the alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers (8 USC 1182(a)(5)(A)). The Department of Labor has promulgated regulations at 20 CFR 656 pursuant to and to implement section 212(a)(5)(A) of the INA. These regulations set forth the fact-finding process designed to support the granting or denial of a permanent labor certification.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: As indicated above, it is anticipated that the re-engineering effort will result in significant cost savings to the Government and to the regulated community. DOL will be able to provide a more precise estimation of anticipated cost reductions after the re-engineering of the permanent labor certification process is completed.