While some of us are patiently waiting for filed PERM apps, some - considering it and some - suspiciously shrugging shoulders, I figured it would be a good idea to have a bit of philosophical discussion about the whole darn thing. To kinda relax overstrained nerves, so to speak.
Couple years from now PERM will be it. Worked out, refined, loopholes found and plugged. And all our sorry worries will seem so tiny and meaningless to the next generations of LC filers. Pity it is, they'll never appreciate the pain, grief and courage their predecessors had to go though. Alas, it ain't a fair world.
More I think about PERM, more it amazes me. The system is practically asking for a fraud. It's like leaving bunch of kids in the candy shop and not locking the doors.
Lets start from the basics, since the day Eve handed that apple to Adam, it has always been about supply and demand. There's a demand for high-tech workers, who will shy down and quietly do their work - productive, unpretentious and replicable. The need rises from the competition. If you don't do it, be sure somebody else will. Competition is the locomotive of this (rather every) healthy Economy. It's not about "fair" or "equal". Its goal is to filter out weaklings and let the stronger ones live on. Some might say jthis is fair. Apparently, people like Greenspan understand and value this. A healthy competition always needs new blood supply.
Now, when talking about "new blood", there gotta be mechanisms to control its flow. So, how would an intelligent system do it? Is there really a way for a number of even highly sophisticated professionals to decide who qualifies and who does not? Over the board? Throughout all possible specializations imaginable? How can a single human being honestly tell whether candidate A really is a next grand biologist or just a buffoon? So, they tried to have the "market test". Pathetic thought! The market tests can be easily faked. The market test views every professional as a replaceable widget and tries to make sure, it's not available then and there, putting the test into the very hands of the most interested stakeholder - the company, the candidate and their experienced lawyer! Even if these assessments are honest and just by the time it gets reviewed by DOL, market conditions have probably changed.
These are the main reasons that have made the whole system quite vulnerable. Even though officials manage to corner a thug like that lawyer from California here and there, I don't think anybody doubts the fact, that many have slipped through the system on fraudulent or semi-legal documents, and cloaked the way for ethical people. And honestly, what do you expect when state A takes 5 years to process a piece of paper and state B - literally "across the street" - takes only 3 months? Supply and demand will and do play their laizer-faire dance.
Then there came PERM. A long-promised way to salvation. One would naturally think an evolving system would learn from previous mistakes. Made've the next generation more scalable, resilient and geared towards using proper controls for "new blood" flow. But, alas, governments have been instituted among men as antidotes to progress. Even the greatest minds have long recognized, no form of government has ever been evolutionary. It can't be fixed, it can only be changed. So, here we are, with the system that literally "begs to be abused".
So, let me ask you this, what's stopping an average guy (say Linus Torvaldis) from opening a real company, filing fake PERM apps online for couple of his fellas and once done, closing down the whole enterprise? Audit?! Don't be ridiculous! If he does this for only several people, his chances are pretty good. Now, even if he gets audited, he might get "failure to provide supporting documents" and a fine at worst. Cause unless Mr. Torvaldis is not a complete dumbass, he will have some documents showing he was conducting the recruiting efforts. They just won't be sufficient.
All you, honest, hard-working, wanna-have-a-house-pretty-wife-and-a-pet dreamers all that's left for you is to stand round the circle and applaud! Brilliant!
This brings a good point though. Now that PERM will (hopefully) take 3-4 month for an overall LC process (and probably less, if the company permanently does the advertisement), what if Mr. Trovaldis opens a contractor shop, honestly does the recruitment efforts and files for a future employment? Wouldn't there be lots of people willing to pay for this (they have to wait for 3-4 months only, not that bad) and "bring in" projects? What is there to stop this? More! What exactly is illegal about this?
Couple years from now PERM will be it. Worked out, refined, loopholes found and plugged. And all our sorry worries will seem so tiny and meaningless to the next generations of LC filers. Pity it is, they'll never appreciate the pain, grief and courage their predecessors had to go though. Alas, it ain't a fair world.
More I think about PERM, more it amazes me. The system is practically asking for a fraud. It's like leaving bunch of kids in the candy shop and not locking the doors.
Lets start from the basics, since the day Eve handed that apple to Adam, it has always been about supply and demand. There's a demand for high-tech workers, who will shy down and quietly do their work - productive, unpretentious and replicable. The need rises from the competition. If you don't do it, be sure somebody else will. Competition is the locomotive of this (rather every) healthy Economy. It's not about "fair" or "equal". Its goal is to filter out weaklings and let the stronger ones live on. Some might say jthis is fair. Apparently, people like Greenspan understand and value this. A healthy competition always needs new blood supply.
Now, when talking about "new blood", there gotta be mechanisms to control its flow. So, how would an intelligent system do it? Is there really a way for a number of even highly sophisticated professionals to decide who qualifies and who does not? Over the board? Throughout all possible specializations imaginable? How can a single human being honestly tell whether candidate A really is a next grand biologist or just a buffoon? So, they tried to have the "market test". Pathetic thought! The market tests can be easily faked. The market test views every professional as a replaceable widget and tries to make sure, it's not available then and there, putting the test into the very hands of the most interested stakeholder - the company, the candidate and their experienced lawyer! Even if these assessments are honest and just by the time it gets reviewed by DOL, market conditions have probably changed.
These are the main reasons that have made the whole system quite vulnerable. Even though officials manage to corner a thug like that lawyer from California here and there, I don't think anybody doubts the fact, that many have slipped through the system on fraudulent or semi-legal documents, and cloaked the way for ethical people. And honestly, what do you expect when state A takes 5 years to process a piece of paper and state B - literally "across the street" - takes only 3 months? Supply and demand will and do play their laizer-faire dance.
Then there came PERM. A long-promised way to salvation. One would naturally think an evolving system would learn from previous mistakes. Made've the next generation more scalable, resilient and geared towards using proper controls for "new blood" flow. But, alas, governments have been instituted among men as antidotes to progress. Even the greatest minds have long recognized, no form of government has ever been evolutionary. It can't be fixed, it can only be changed. So, here we are, with the system that literally "begs to be abused".
So, let me ask you this, what's stopping an average guy (say Linus Torvaldis) from opening a real company, filing fake PERM apps online for couple of his fellas and once done, closing down the whole enterprise? Audit?! Don't be ridiculous! If he does this for only several people, his chances are pretty good. Now, even if he gets audited, he might get "failure to provide supporting documents" and a fine at worst. Cause unless Mr. Torvaldis is not a complete dumbass, he will have some documents showing he was conducting the recruiting efforts. They just won't be sufficient.
All you, honest, hard-working, wanna-have-a-house-pretty-wife-and-a-pet dreamers all that's left for you is to stand round the circle and applaud! Brilliant!
This brings a good point though. Now that PERM will (hopefully) take 3-4 month for an overall LC process (and probably less, if the company permanently does the advertisement), what if Mr. Trovaldis opens a contractor shop, honestly does the recruitment efforts and files for a future employment? Wouldn't there be lots of people willing to pay for this (they have to wait for 3-4 months only, not that bad) and "bring in" projects? What is there to stop this? More! What exactly is illegal about this?