Philadelphia Backlog Elimination Center Tracking

Information Requested

My friend's file is under process in the Rhode Island state level as non RIR.
He has a hope that it will be approved by March this year.
Does any one know where his file will be moved once his state is approved. i.e., whether his file will be moved to Boston DOL or Phil Backlog elimination center. Help needed. Thanks :confused:
 
Srihar said:
My friend's file is under process in the Rhode Island state level as non RIR.
He has a hope that it will be approved by March this year.
Does any one know where his file will be moved once his state is approved. i.e., whether his file will be moved to Boston DOL or Phil Backlog elimination center. Help needed. Thanks :confused:

Unopend State cases were supposed to be sent to one of BEC Centres before March 2005 (RIR and Non-RIR)

New cases filed during Jan 2005 is expected to go in NPC

After March 28 2005 only PERM is effective.
 
If NPC is supposed to handle PERM after MARCH 28th then what will happen to these cases after January 2005 and before March 28th at NPC. Who will look at them?
 
abzy2004 said:
If NPC is supposed to handle PERM after MARCH 28th then what will happen to these cases after January 2005 and before March 28th at NPC. Who will look at them?
PERM is a different entity which needs a fresh appln.
After March 28th you can't file in current forms and you have to process through only PERM.
For those appln before March 28th needs to go to State and in turn will go to NPC and eventually may be transferred to BEC or may be processed by NPC.
Imagine hardly 3 months of cases and most of them will be non-rir since RIR needs advts to run for atleast 3 months depending on states.
 
mnhrdc said:
Unopend State cases were supposed to be sent to one of BEC Centres before March 2005 (RIR and Non-RIR)

New cases filed during Jan 2005 is expected to go in NPC

After March 28 2005 only PERM is effective.

My friend's case was a opened one. He expects that it will be processed by March in Rhodes Island, as informed by some staff when he contacted the state labor in Rhodes Island.
My question is once it is approved in Rhodes Island, whether his file will be moved to which DOL office. either to Boston DOL or to any BEC!

Thanks
 
Perm Update

Highlights of PERM Meeting in Chicago - Jan 2005

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) held its first PERM training meeting in Chicago, Illinois on January 11, 2005. To ensure that we stay abreast of the latest information on PERM, we sent an attorney from The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. to the session. This valuable information is the latest available on backlog reduction and PERM. It should help MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers in making their plans.

Update on Backlog Elimination Centers

The meeting began with a Backlog Elimination Center (BEC) update. There are the two BECs in Philadelphia, PA and Dallas, TX, as well as two "satellite" backlog centers - New York, NY (with Boston, MA) and San Francisco, CA. The two satellites will stay open for approximately another year. The oldest cases from the regional offices are at the BECs. Open cases at the regions are not moving to the BECs. Each BEC has approximately 200 contract staff members. The federal staff moved to the BECs from the regional offices will make all final case decisions.

San Francisco had the largest volume of backlog cases, so 10,000 of their cases went to Dallas and 10,000 to Philadelphia. The DOL is using UPS for backlog shipments. The contract staff from Exceed Corporation is responsible for getting all of the cases moved to their proper locations. The current expectation is that there are an additional 200,000 cases from the states beyond those moved from the regions.

As of January 4, 2005, only 17 states had sent their backlogged cases that were due on December 31, 2004. This is approximately 24,000 cases. Larger states are slower because they have more cases to box.

Procedures at BECs

BEC operations have been making progress each day. There are many challenges because of the large volume of cases. There is a brand new software system that has glitches and a largely new staff that needs training. To date, they have sent approximately 26,000 "45-day letters." These are letters to potential employers essentially verifying whether or not the employer wishes to pursue the case. Of these, 11,000 had potentially unnecessary questions about the existence of the company because of the insufficient database that was in use. They now have other databases and they will continue to send out these 45-day letters. The DOL requests that the 11,000 letters also be answered, as this is more efficient than their having to send out revised letters.

When the BEC gets a case, it goes through data entry and then the 45-day letter is issued. When the response is received, the case is put into one of the 2 processing streams (RIR or Regular), and those streams are adjusted for FIFO (first-in / first-out order) on a routine basis. Information is in the process of being set up for a public system. Right now, the Boston and New York regional offices are the only locations with accurate information available to the public. The initial data entry that precedes issuance of the 45-day letter is under consideration for possibly being abbreviated so that the files may more quickly be identified as having arrived at the BECs. A national database is being implemented so that it will be possible to call one BEC and get information about the location of the file, regardless of which BEC has the file.

Efforts are currently focused on data entry. It does not appear that cases are being processed as yet. The next step will be to share the BEC software with New York / Boston and San Francisco, once more of the programmatic problems have been worked out.

The DOL expects backlog procedures to be fully defined by the PERM start date of March 28, 2005. Anything filed prior to PERM will be considered a part of the backlog. Backlog elimination is estimated to take approximately 24 to 30 months once PERM has begun. This, in part, depends upon the number of people re-filing under PERM.

Expect DOL Transitional Guidances

The DOL expects to release two more guidances on transitional procedures in the near future. The first will guide the states on procedures once PERM has been implemented. This is expected to be published in the next month. The second notice will outline which states will use the Atlanta National Processing Center (NPC) and which will use the Chicago NPC for PERM. Both guidances will appear in the Federal Register.

Temporary programs, like the H2B program, will move to Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL so that BECs will be able to focus on backlogs. This transition has not been completed yet. DOL will issue guidance on handling non-PERM cases received after March 28, 2005 (postmarked before March 28, 2005, etc).

What Triggers an Audit under PERM?

Under PERM, there are certain programmatic "flags" that will trigger DOL case audits. Audits will be triggered by responses on the forms. The DOL is using technology to detect anything odd, down to whether the phone number provided for a company is a cell phone number.

Processing Timeframes under PERM

Most PERM cases are expected to be completed in 45 to 60 days, but this processing time will not apply to those cases that are submitted by mail. The system will assign a date to an eFiling automatically. Paper filings will be date stamped.

Previous RIR or Regular Cases Re-Filed as PERM

The DOL will be posting information on the conversion to PERM of cases previously filed under the regular LC or RIR programs. Re-filed applications may take longer to process than other PERM cases that are filed on the new ETA Form 9089. The time will depend upon how many of these are received and where the original case files are located. Most likely, they are going to have a relationship between the BEC database and the PERM database to use technology as much as possible to check whether the filings are identical - a requirement for retaining the original priority date. DOL expects that re-filing a case should still result in a faster labor certification processing than if the case is left at the BEC and not re-filed. With priority date retrogression preventing EB3 cases from reaching the I-485 stage, this faster processing may not result in any net gain in overall green card processing time for those nationals from India, mainland China, and the Philippines affected by the EB3 retrogression of dates. For a detailed analysis of this topic, see our January 21, 2005 MurthyBulletin article, PERM and EB3 Candidates - File Regular LC Now!, available on MurthyDotCom.

Employer Obligations Regarding Recruitment

If there is any doubt as to whether a case is for a professional job, the DOL recommends that the employers complete the professional recruitment. For all cases, the State Workforce Agency or SWA job order must be sent to the SWA, not just America's Job Bank.

If there are laid-off U.S. workers, an explanation as to why they are not qualified should be in the employer's recruitment report. The DOL thinks that recruitment reports are even more important under an attestation model. They do not want "the ink to be too wet" on a recruitment report if there is an audit. That is, it should be prepared at the time the recruitment occurs, not at the time of an audit. The DOL will also be checking whether the employer is aware that a case was filed for the particular employee. Thus it appears that there may be greater scrutiny by the DOL if an employer files on behalf of a future employee.

Deadlines for Responses to DOL

Under PERM, there is supposed to be a 30-day deadline for any information that the DOL requests. The DOL believes this is better than different deadlines for different types of requests. The DOL emphasized that 30 days for audit letters is only taking into account that someone may be out of town, but they expect the data to be readily available and sent in much earlier.

Prevailing Wages

The DOL is working with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the four prevailing wage levels required under the 2004 Omnibus Act and expect to have guidance and training available on this issue prior to March 8, 2005. As some of our readers may be aware, PERM requires the DOL to consider four levels of wages instead of the existing two levels. This has caused a great deal of hardship and potential problems for employers and employees.

Conclusion

We appreciate the DOL's efforts in holding these meetings around the country to explain PERM. Although the DOL did not answer specific audience questions about PERM, they did collect written questions they intend to answer on an FAQ page on the DOL WebSite in the future.

As always, we at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy are pleased to be able to share this cutting- edge information with our readers. We will continue to monitor the DOL's various presentations and update MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers on this hot topic that will affect many lives.

Copyright 2005, The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. All Rights Reserved
 
mast1006 said:
Highlights of PERM Meeting in Chicago - Jan 2005

Update on Backlog Elimination Centers

The meeting began with a Backlog Elimination Center (BEC) update. There are the two BECs in Philadelphia, PA and Dallas, TX, as well as two "satellite" backlog centers - New York, NY (with Boston, MA) and San Francisco, CA. The two satellites will stay open for approximately another year. The oldest cases from the regional offices are at the BECs. Open cases at the regions are not moving to the BECs. Each BEC has approximately 200 contract staff members. The federal staff moved to the BECs from the regional offices will make all final case decisions.

Copyright 2005, The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. All Rights Reserved

There is that confusion again..."open cases at regions are NOT moving to BEC" . My case reached Phili Regional Sept 03..Now is that an open case or no? Some of my collegues whose case reached Phili regional around the same time have received the BEC letter, but not me.

M
 
mithya said:
There is that confusion again..."open cases at regions are NOT moving to BEC" . My case reached Phili Regional Sept 03..Now is that an open case or no? Some of my collegues whose case reached Phili regional around the same time have received the BEC letter, but not me.

M

That's exactly my question too.
EB2 - RIR
oct-31-2002 VA
July 2004 Phil DOL
 
Where is the backlog elimination?

If the DOL' Backlog elimination is estimated to take approximately 24 to 30 months once PERM has begun, I wonder whether it is a backlog elimination or accumulation process. Two to three years waiting period was normal under the previous system in the states those were having delay and in the states having no backlog used to process the LC within 6 months. Now with the backlog elimination, everyone shall wait for the same period namely 2 to 2and a half years for LC.
 
felixjose said:
If the DOL' Backlog elimination is estimated to take approximately 24 to 30 months once PERM has begun, I wonder whether it is a backlog elimination or accumulation process. Two to three years waiting period was normal under the previous system in the states those were having delay and in the states having no backlog used to process the LC within 6 months. Now with the backlog elimination, everyone shall wait for the same period namely 2 to 2and a half years for LC.


It's not Speedy Backlog Elimination.
:rolleyes:
BEC's are just another stunt to redistribute funding. Everyone makes out, including the lawyers I believe.... every new process is a new challenge for the layman that can incite fear based marketing.
 
spidey said:
It's not Speedy Backlog Elimination.
:rolleyes:
BEC's are just another stunt to redistribute funding. Everyone makes out, including the lawyers I believe.... every new process is a new challenge for the layman that can incite fear based marketing.


Very well said Spidey :eek:
 
BEC Theory

A POTENTIAL SCENARIO – TO BE CLEAR: I MADE THIS UP. I DIDN’T READ IT ANYWHERE AND IT IS ENDORSED BY NO ONE. IT DESCRIBES WHAT I THINK MAY HAPPEN. DATES ARE MY ESTIMATES

1) San Francisco and Philadelphia Regional entered into the system. - DONE
2) San Francisco and Philadelphia Regional 45-day letters being sent out. - NOW
3) Letters start coming back. Create PD FIFO of both SF and Philly Region - NOW
4) Atlanta Regional being entered into the system - NOW
5) San Francisco and Philadelphia Regional 45-day letters completely sent out. - DONE
6) Begin processing of oldest SF and Philly Regional cases – mid February 2005
7) Atlanta Regional cases entry completed. – end of February 2005
8) All SF and Philly Regions letters received and added to PD FIFO – March 2005
9) Atlanta Regional letters sent out. – March 2005
10) SWA cases begin entering into the system – March 2005
11) Atlanta Regional letters come back – April 2005
12) Processing now includes Philly, SF and Atlanta regions processing oldest cases first – April 2005
13) SWA letters begin to be sent out – April 2005
14) SWA letters begin to come back and added to PD FIFO – May 2005
15) Processing is now by PD FIFO which includes Philly, SF, Atlanta Regions and SWAs that have been entered into the system. – May 2005
16) All SWAs entered into the system – March 2006
17) All letters sent out. – April 2006
18) Processing is now true PD FIFO – all states all regions. – April 2006

Conclusions:

a) Some Philly, SF and Atlanta regional cases will get lucky and get processed ahead of some national (at least those that are bound to Philly BEC) older cases. As of May 2005 (IN MY PRETEND SCENARIO), older cases from SWAs such as Connecticut, DC, Georgia, Maryland, NJ, NY, and Alabama would jump to the front of the line.

b) If they data enter SWA cases from oldest to newest, true PD FIFO would be achieved by May 2005 (IN MY PRETEND SCENARIO)

DISCLAIMER: IT IS JUST A THEORY SO DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL AND PLEASE COMMENT.
 
[dkgdkg]: My case PD: Aug 2002, RD: June 2003. According to my attorney, not yet transfered to BRC. I read in this forum that there few cases still left in SF DOL.

According to Attorney, all cases from SF DOL and CA SWA should be shipped to Dallas BRC on or before 31 March, 2005.


JustWatching said:
A POTENTIAL SCENARIO – TO BE CLEAR: I MADE THIS UP. I DIDN’T READ IT ANYWHERE AND IT IS ENDORSED BY NO ONE. IT DESCRIBES WHAT I THINK MAY HAPPEN. DATES ARE MY ESTIMATES

1) San Francisco and Philadelphia Regional entered into the system. - DONE
2) San Francisco and Philadelphia Regional 45-day letters being sent out. - NOW
3) Letters start coming back. Create PD FIFO of both SF and Philly Region - NOW
4) Atlanta Regional being entered into the system - NOW
5) San Francisco and Philadelphia Regional 45-day letters completely sent out. - DONE
6) Begin processing of oldest SF and Philly Regional cases – mid February 2005
7) Atlanta Regional cases entry completed. – end of February 2005
8) All SF and Philly Regions letters received and added to PD FIFO – March 2005
9) Atlanta Regional letters sent out. – March 2005
10) SWA cases begin entering into the system – March 2005
11) Atlanta Regional letters come back – April 2005
12) Processing now includes Philly, SF and Atlanta regions processing oldest cases first – April 2005
13) SWA letters begin to be sent out – April 2005
14) SWA letters begin to come back and added to PD FIFO – May 2005
15) Processing is now by PD FIFO which includes Philly, SF, Atlanta Regions and SWAs that have been entered into the system. – May 2005
16) All SWAs entered into the system – March 2006
17) All letters sent out. – April 2006
18) Processing is now true PD FIFO – all states all regions. – April 2006

Conclusions:

a) Some Philly, SF and Atlanta regional cases will get lucky and get processed ahead of some national (at least those that are bound to Philly BEC) older cases. As of May 2005 (IN MY PRETEND SCENARIO), older cases from SWAs such as Connecticut, DC, Georgia, Maryland, NJ, NY, and Alabama would jump to the front of the line.

b) If they data enter SWA cases from oldest to newest, true PD FIFO would be achieved by May 2005 (IN MY PRETEND SCENARIO)

DISCLAIMER: IT IS JUST A THEORY SO DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL AND PLEASE COMMENT.
 
Attorney just inquired on my behalf from BEC (Don't know how)
They told him my new case number and that it is in Philly BEC
CA PD : feb 2,2003
CA RD: Apr 6,2004
But I have not recieved any 45-day Letter yet from Philly. Does this mean that Philly sent the letter and it got lost ?
My thinking is that if they can tell my attorney the new case number means they recieved and entered the data in the system and generated the 45 day letter.. Gurus am I right??
Do you think I should ask attorney to follow up from Philly BEC or just keep waiting patiently for the 45 day letter.
has any one with this PD from CA got a letter from Philly ?
Any input highly appreciated
 
nk01 said:
Attorney just inquired on my behalf from BEC (Don't know how)
They told him my new case number and that it is in Philly BEC
CA PD : feb 2,2003
CA RD: Apr 6,2004
But I have not recieved any 45-day Letter yet from Philly. Does this mean that Philly sent the letter and it got lost ?
My thinking is that if they can tell my attorney the new case number means they recieved and entered the data in the system and generated the 45 day letter.. Gurus am I right??
Do you think I should ask attorney to follow up from Philly BEC or just keep waiting patiently for the 45 day letter.
has any one with this PD from CA got a letter from Philly ?
Any input highly appreciated

Since you got your BEC case number, I think you should stop worrying about the letter. At least you know you are in the system. And you have a number!!

It would be GREAT if you could ask your lawyer how and by what miracle he got information from BEC. I still haven't received a letter either and I am not in the DOL database.

So any info you can get from your lawyer indicating what/how our own lawyers could get info for the rest of us too would be AWESOME! Thanks in advance!
 
nk01 said:
Attorney just inquired on my behalf from BEC (Don't know how)
They told him my new case number and that it is in Philly BEC
CA PD : feb 2,2003
CA RD: Apr 6,2004
But I have not recieved any 45-day Letter yet from Philly. Does this mean that Philly sent the letter and it got lost ?
My thinking is that if they can tell my attorney the new case number means they recieved and entered the data in the system and generated the 45 day letter.. Gurus am I right??
Do you think I should ask attorney to follow up from Philly BEC or just keep waiting patiently for the 45 day letter.
has any one with this PD from CA got a letter from Philly ?
Any input highly appreciated

As a precautionary measure Ask your Atorney with concurrence of Employer to send a fax/letter/email to BEC centre that intrested in contineuance.
Please include the following information with your request:
The Employer’s Name, the Alien’s first and last name, and if known, the new case ID number.

Others To obtain specific information regarding your application, you may send an email to: status@dal.dflc.us <mailto:status@dal.dflc.us>
 
are you sure status@dal.dflc.us, not status@phi.dflc.us?


mnhrdc said:
As a precautionary measure Ask your Atorney with concurrence of Employer to send a fax/letter/email to BEC centre that intrested in contineuance.
Please include the following information with your request:
The Employer’s Name, the Alien’s first and last name, and if known, the new case ID number.

Others To obtain specific information regarding your application, you may send an email to: status@dal.dflc.us <mailto:status@dal.dflc.us>
 
Employer failed existence check

My attorney has just received my 45-day letter from Dallas BEC. The corrections list on the letter indicates that the company needs to send more documentation about its existence. Specifically, the following prelim checks have failed:
1. Failed Existense Check: Employer's address does not reference back to employer's name
2. Failed Existence Check: Employer's phone number does not reference back to employer's name

Does anyone have experience in this scenario about what exact documents should be sent to the BEC? The company is in a fairly good standing and had moved to a different office last year (the phone no. is still the same) - so it is probably just a matter of producing the right documentation. Do I also need to get the original form ETA-750 modified? Any help in this matter is appreciated.
 
nk01 said:
Attorney just inquired on my behalf from BEC (Don't know how)
They told him my new case number and that it is in Philly BEC
CA PD : feb 2,2003
CA RD: Apr 6,2004
But I have not recieved any 45-day Letter yet from Philly. Does this mean that Philly sent the letter and it got lost ?
My thinking is that if they can tell my attorney the new case number means they recieved and entered the data in the system and generated the 45 day letter.. Gurus am I right??
Do you think I should ask attorney to follow up from Philly BEC or just keep waiting patiently for the 45 day letter.
has any one with this PD from CA got a letter from Philly ?
Any input highly appreciated
Case number only indicates that original data entry has been completed and the 45-day letter is queued for print. Some delays have occurred in letter printing but when print is completed, 45-day clock starts. Letter may still be en route. It might be a good idea for atty to check again in a couple of weeks if letter(s) have not been received. Also, if employer or attorney have moved since application, letter may have been returned as undeliverable by post office (forwarding order only good for a year). If this is the case, the ball is in the employer's court to make corrections to ensure the application doesn't get closed for lack of response.
 
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