PERM process delayed further - expected December 2003
Here is the message :
In a teleconference between the Department of Labor-Employment and Training
Administration (DOL) and the DOL liaison of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA), the minutes of which were released in August 2003, the DOL
confirmed that PERM regulations, as well as labor certification backlog
reduction, are top items on their agenda. They projected that the final PERM
regulations would be published in late fall 2003. The implementation of the
regulation and the PERM program would then occur at the end of calendar year
2003.
It is difficult to be sure of the timing since, originally, PERM was to have
started fall 2002, then in April 2003, and then was postponed to an expected
date in August or October 2003, and now by December 2003. This December 2003
timeframe is just a prediction. DOL has indicated that the implementation of
PERM will depend upon the funding for labor certification backlog reduction.
Additionally, the budget process and timing with respect to funding issues is
difficult to predict.
DOL stated that PERM will continue to progress even if the backlog reduction
process is stalled. They have a timeline for perfecting the PERM technology and
will be beta testing. Details of the timeline were not released. We may be able
to obtain some additional insight into this aspect of the process, as they will
be requesting assistance in the beta testing. Therefore, there should be some
information available once beta testing is imminent.
Although the start date for PERM remains unclear, it does appear that the PERM
program is still a priority for DOL. Given that the predictions involve
timeframes that are only a few months away, the answer to the question of "when"
is hopefully closer.