Act before it bites you : Send your comments Urgent!!!!!!!!!

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Guys today is the last day we can comment on the 45 days Labor expiry. Please send emails to the DOL and express your disagreement with the new law. It is unnecessary and unwanted. When labor substitution is being eliminated, there's no need for this rule. The content here contains their email etc, please send your comments today. Take it as extremely important issue as we may not know we'll wait for years for the labor and we get kicked out just if DOL posts it late.
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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is publishing a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) with request for comments
to enhance program integrity and reduce the incentives and
opportunities for fraud and abuse related to the permanent employment
of aliens in the United States. First, DOL is proposing to eliminate
the current practice of allowing the substitution of alien
beneficiaries on permanent labor certification applications and
resulting certifications. Second, DOL is proposing a 45-day period for
employers to file approved permanent labor certifications in support of
a petition with the Department of Homeland Security, United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS). Third, the proposed rule
expressly prohibits the sale, barter, or purchase of permanent labor
applications and certifications, as well as other related payments.
Finally, the proposed rule includes provisions highlighting existing
law pertaining to submission of fraudulent or false information,
clarifying current DOL procedures for responding to possible fraud, and
adding procedures for debarment from the permanent labor certification
program. Under this proposed regulation, these provisions to enhance
program integrity and reduce fraud and abuse would apply to permanent
labor certification applications and approved certifications filed
under both the regulation effective March 28, 2005, and any prior
regulation implementing the permanent labor certification program. This
proposed rule also proposes clarifying modifications of applications
filed after March 28, 2005, under the new streamlined permanent labor
certification process. The Department solicits comments on each
provision contained in this NPRM.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the
proposed rule on or before April 14, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Regulatory
Information Number (RIN) 1205-AB42, by any of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the Web site instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: Comments may be submitted by e-mail to
fraud.comments@dol.gov. Include RIN 1205-AB42 in the subject line of
the message.
Mail: Submit written comments to the Assistant Secretary,
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room C-4312, Washington, DC 20210, Attention:
John R. Beverly, Interim Chief, Division of Foreign Labor
Certification. Because of security measures, mail directed to
Washington, DC is sometimes delayed. We will consider only comments
postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service or proof of delivery from another
delivery service such as UPS or Federal Express on or before the
deadline for comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the RIN 1205-
AB42 for this rulemaking. Receipt of submissions, whether by U.S. Mail
or e-mail, will not be acknowledged. Because DOL continues to
experience occasional delays in receiving postal mail in the
Washington, DC, area, commenters are encouraged to submit comments via
e-mail.
Comments will be available for public inspection during normal
business hours at the address listed above for mailed comments. Persons
who need assistance to review the comments will be provided with
appropriate aids such as readers or print magnifiers. Copies of this
proposed rule may be obtained in alternative formats (e.g., large
print, Braille, audiotape, or disk) upon request. To schedule an
appointment to review the comments and/or to obtain the proposed rule
in an alternative format, contact the Division of Foreign Labor
Certification at (202) 693-3010 (this is not a toll-free number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John R. Beverly, Interim Chief,
Division of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and Training
Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room C-4312, Washington,
DC 20210. Telephone (202) 693-3010 (this is not a toll-free number).
Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access the
telephone numbers above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal
Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
 
This is the text a volunteer has suggested could be written on AILA efax.
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My company applied for my Labor a few years ago, and I am currently awaiting certification by the BEC. Here are my comments on the referenced proposed rule. Specifically, I am concerned about the validity period of labor certifications as, if implemented, it has a potential to adversely impact me.

45-Day Validity Period

The Department's proposal to introduce a 45-day validity period for approved labor certification applications is completely unworkable.

Filing an I-140 form is not just a matter of quickly filling out a form. It takes considerable time to obtain accurate information and to acquire and prepare the necessary supporting documentation. Certain corporate documents to evidence employer viability, such as licenses, charters of incorporation, organizational charts, tax returns and other financial documents, must be filed with the I-140 form and thus must be gathered. Ability to pay the offered wage must be explained, evidence of the beneficiary's past experience must be gathered, and an evaluation of the employee's credentials often must be commissioned. These are just a few of the steps necessary to file an I-140 petition.

This preparation takes time and costs money. Given the costs associated with such preparation, it is not practical or reasonable to require our employer to incur these expenses and to devote time and resources to the preparation of an I-140 petition without first knowing whether the first hurdle in the case--labor certification--has been overcome.

Other factors also make the 45-day period unrealistic. The parties that need to sign the forms are not always readily available. For example, the human resources director might be away on a business trip or on leave. The beneficiary might be on vacation, or, not uncommonly, still residing abroad. The attorney could be away on vacation. Coordinating and obtaining signatures of these individuals takes time.

On top of the problems and issues that would prevent filing an immigrant petition within 45 days of labor certification, there is the delay caused by the DOL itself in getting the approved labor certification into our hands. From the time an application is designated as approved on the PERM online system, one to three weeks is the typical time frame before the lawyer/employer receive the certified ETA 9089 in the mail. And, it sometimes can take even longer if there are delays in the DOL mailing room (which are not uncommon). If, as the proposed rule is written, the 45-day period runs from the date of approval, in many cases, the labor certification will not have been even received before the 45 days are up.

The supplemental information section of the proposed rule indicates that one of the reasons for imposing a 45-day limit on validity is concern that a job opportunity may change or become stale. This concern is ironic given that it has been government processing delays rather than the deliberate delay of employers that have aged the applications. Hundreds of thousands of labor certification applications have been pending for years. And while the DOL has, for the most part, established a faster processing record under PERM, numerous cases still take well beyond the DOL stated goal of 45 to 60 days. Moreover, processing of the I-140 immigrant visa petition and adjustment of status application with USCIS easily takes 12 to 18 months, and processing an immigrant visa application with a consular post normally takes no less than six months. What can cause even greater delay is the long wait as a result of visa retrogression.

A 45-day limit on the validity of a labor certification would be an unreasonable and unjustified burden. I would suggest in the alternative that one year is more reasonable and practical. This would provide sufficient time to gather documentation, and would cover the delays resulting from the unexpected problems that can arise when processing paperwork in a company. And, this time frame is not without precedent. Under section 203(g) of the Immigration Act, registration of aliens for purposes of immigrant visa issuance expires after one year.

I thank you for the opportunity provided to express my concerns regarding the rule, and I hope you will take the comments expressed by me in due faith.
 
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