10/06/2006: BEC RIR Conversion Regulation Published and in Effect as of Today
The USDOL/ETA published this notice in the federal register. This conversion rule is taking effect today. Those who are eligible for conversion under the new rule will practically have a choice of two opportunities for the labor certification application. One is filing a PERM application requesting retension of the priority date of the pending BEC case. The other is filing request for conversion of the pending BEC traditional case to an RIR case with the retention of the original priority date. Choice of these two options requires a careful review of the two different regulations - PERM regulation and previous labor certification regulation which is still in effect for the BEC cases. There are some differences in legal standards, requirements, and procedures. People may also want to relook at the old RIR conversion regulation. Besides, there are many unanswered open questions for the conversion as to the details of the RIR recruitment requirement in terms of the number of ads, other details. There were tremendous differences among the six Regions before March 28, 2005. The OFLC should release a Q&A on the conversion as soon as possible to lay out the details of recruitment requirement for the conversion. Otherwise, the intent of the agency to encourage conversion for achievement of its goal to remove the entire backlog cases by September 30, 2007 may be compromised. One other question the agency should answer is whether the same recruitment materials can be used for the PERM, should the RIR converted backlog case be for some reasons denied. Otherwise, we welcome the agency's move, albeit somewhat belated, to initiate an effort to reduce backlog cases as soon as possible.
It is possible to convert your RIR application to PERM. This is a great news for 2001/2002 guys who are stuck. Good luck
