PERM confusions and questions -- please help!

verdant

Registered Users (C)
Dear all PERM-lings,

Now that the old LC system is gone, I have several PERM related questions that I hope some of your gurus might shed some lights on.

I was hired by my current employer 2 years ago. One year ago, my employer promoted me from the junior level to the senior level, so I am now under a different job title. That title will also be used in PERM application. However, the two positions (junior and senior) are very similar in job duties and responsibilities. Let's say in the ad for recruitment, we will put skill requirements in job duties that I did not have when I was hired two years ago, but were accumulated during my first year in the junior position.

When trying to draw a general line between what can and cannot be used by my employer to reject an applicant, I have a question --

(1). Suppose there is an applicant who does not possess skills required in job duties, can the applicant be rejected on that ground? Remember I did not have those skills either two years ago when I was initially hired by the employer, but I accumulated them in the first year, and at the end of year one was promoted to a senior level position, with which we will be filing for LC. If the employer uses that to reject the applicant, isn't that it is counting my first year on the junior position with the employer as my working experience? Given that the two positions (junior and senior) are very similar in job duties and responsibilities, is it OK to do that at all?

(2). If I submit my case, and were turned down by Labor Dept, what will happen? Will I lose the further opportunity to apply for LC with the same job position? Will my employer be obliged to immediately hire the other applicant that we cannot legally reject?

Thank you in advance for your help.
 
1) If the applicant does NOT possess required skills and those skill cannot be aqcuired over a reasonable perioad of time, the applicant can be rejected. What reasonable means is not defined by the DOL, but up to the meployer to decide. If you did not have the skills 2 years ago does NOT matter. The PERM job is for a future job, not the current one.
2) Yes, you can apply for PERM again.
 
Thank you very much for the response. But how do you reconcile your take with the following FAQ published by Labor Department --

http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/pdf/perm_faqs_3-3-05.pdf

On the top of page 18 there, it seems to say that the employer in this case cannot reject an applicant for the reason that he/she does not possess skills that the alien beneficiary himself did not have either at the time of initial hire.
 
Moreover, experience (skills) gained through same employer (even contracting) is not allowed as a requirement. In your case, you might require more yrs of experience for senior position. Unless you had the skills and experience, you can't put it as requirement.
 
abzy2004 said:
Moreover, experience (skills) gained through same employer (even contracting) is not allowed as a requirement. In your case, you might require more yrs of experience for senior position. Unless you had the skills and experience, you can't put it as requirement.


They are part of the job duties. They are not explicitly called "requirement" in the ad. Is the ad like this OK?
 
Top