San Francisco Regional DOL Tracker

Hi,

I got some info from my attorney,


As we previously reported, the Backlog Reduction Centers (BRCs) have been staffed and are starting operations. They are located in Dallas and Philadelphia. Files located at the DOL in those two regions have already been transferred to the BRCs and are in the process of data entry at the new centers. In addition, 20,000 cases from San Francisco's DOL region have also been sent for data entry to the BRCs. Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco are the three regional offices with the largest backlogs and it is anticipated that they will be processed in date order on a First In/First Out basis. After these initial cases are cleared, the contractors at these backlog centers will monitor the sizes and backlogs and processing times at other regions and will determine the methodology for identifying and selecting batches of cases from the remaining regions to transfer to the centers.
 
labor69 said:
Hi,

I got some info from my attorney,


As we previously reported, the Backlog Reduction Centers (BRCs) have been staffed and are starting operations. They are located in Dallas and Philadelphia. Files located at the DOL in those two regions have already been transferred to the BRCs and are in the process of data entry at the new centers. In addition, 20,000 cases from San Francisco's DOL region have also been sent for data entry to the BRCs. Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco are the three regional offices with the largest backlogs and it is anticipated that they will be processed in date order on a First In/First Out basis. After these initial cases are cleared, the contractors at these backlog centers will monitor the sizes and backlogs and processing times at other regions and will determine the methodology for identifying and selecting batches of cases from the remaining regions to transfer to the centers.
heh, you surely got more information from your lawyer than I got from mine. I still did not understand what date would they consider for FIFO, though.
 
Thanks buddy.
If anybody get a chance again, please check whether they are sending both RIR an Non-RIR. Somewhere I read that they are sending only non-RIR.
labor69 said:
Hi,
I got some info from my attorney...
.
 
DOL date or SWA date

Hi All,
From all the tit-bits of info flying around, it sounds like the date that is used to determine which cases go to the BECs is the DOL received date.
Which to me does'nt seem fair. In some states like WA, OR it takes around 2 yrs for RIR cases and around 3yrs for non-RIR cases to clear just the SWAs. Compare that to states like CA where the cases make it out of the SWA in around a year.

I think it is fair to consider the SWA recieved date instead of the DOL date.
That way every one in the region and the country are on the same FIFO queue.

Comments ...?
 
new info on the BEC and NPC

Check www.immigration-law.com website under "Breaking news" section
Look for the following headline.:
10/24/2004: Line-Up of DOL New Four National Labor Certification Centers

sarathynp said:
Thanks buddy.
If anybody get a chance again, please check whether they are sending both RIR an Non-RIR. Somewhere I read that they are sending only non-RIR.
 
labor69 said:
Hi,

I got some info from my attorney,


As we previously reported, the Backlog Reduction Centers (BRCs) have been staffed and are starting operations. They are located in Dallas and Philadelphia. Files located at the DOL in those two regions have already been transferred to the BRCs and are in the process of data entry at the new centers. In addition, 20,000 cases from San Francisco's DOL region have also been sent for data entry to the BRCs. Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco are the three regional offices with the largest backlogs and it is anticipated that they will be processed in date order on a First In/First Out basis. After these initial cases are cleared, the contractors at these backlog centers will monitor the sizes and backlogs and processing times at other regions and will determine the methodology for identifying and selecting batches of cases from the remaining regions to transfer to the centers.

I too heard something similar from our attorneys. The employees working in CA-DOL are going to be transferred to the BRC during December 04. I hope the folks will be processing the LCs in CA DOL till Nov 04.
 
I shall call up Rajiv's office and get the idea about the requirements for intitiating a lititgation.I shall post the findings tomorrow.



nogcnolife said:
GCwaiter and All,

I took a couple of days off. When came back, I think I missed the discussions about the new developments.

We definitely should do something to pull ourselves out of the mud. Starting from seeking Rajiv's assistance is the best way (my personal opinion). Does anybody in this board have good relationship with Rajiv? Or, anybody at least know him? Please stand up and speak for us! If not, I've no problem to write the email. All I'm afraid is that my message won't bring much attention from Rajiv since it's from a stranger.
 
BEC may not be good for all !!

http://www.immigration-law.com/:
As for the backlog reduction tasks of the BECs, the DOL anticipates approximately 2 years to remove all the backlogs. Since the plan adopts FIFO processing principle, the backlog cases will be adjudicated in reverse order or counter clock wise in terms of the processing times. The oldest cases will be adjudicted earliest and the the latest cases will be adjudicated the last. Accordingly, the oldest filers will soon get adjudications,while the recent filers may have to endure a long wait to see their cases adjudicated by the BECs. Theoretically, the cases which are filed close to the end of the year 2004 can even take up to two years to get adjudication of their cases.

This presents a strategic question for the prospective filers of new labor certification applications: Whether or not it would be advisable to file before the end of the year 2004 or after January 1, 2005.
 
sandeep0902 said:
I shall call up Rajiv's office and get the idea about the requirements for intitiating a lititgation.I shall post the findings tomorrow.
Hi Sandeep0902,
Thanks for your efforts. You may refer this quote from DOL website regarding RIR cases:
http://www.ows.doleta.gov/foreign/perm.asp
Reduction in Recruitment (RIR)
Since supervised recruitment is the most time-consuming aspect of the permanent process, use of RIR can significantly reduce the time required in the DOL process. It is possible that the DOL phase of employment-based visas can be accomplished in under one year using the RIR process.
 
vsaxena said:
gcwait2002,

could you please verify whether it is 'Nov 04' or 'Dec 04'?

thanks

I'm not sure. It's not clear whether they'll move during 1st week of Dec or Last week of Dec. I assumed they'll move during the first week of December 04 (worst case scenario for me). In that case, they'll process the LCs till Nov End 2004. This is as per attorney from a large firm.
 
worker_bee said:
You are right - we all tend to view/interpret the memo in a way that sounds favourable to us :)

Having said that, CA/SF SWA/DOL is one of the most backlogged in the country. A DOL RD date of Mar 2003 (currently being processed) transaltes to a SWA PD of Jan-Mar 2002 since it takes an avg 11-13 months for a case to be transmitted from PD to transmittal to DOL. That will make it one of the oldest cases in the national queue when it shows up at BEC.

Are you guys aware of any other region that is more backlogged than this?

Well just that SWA cases for Indiana, New York, Arkansas, DC have older cases than that.

And NY Region has cases with PDs between August 2001 - October 2001 for NY state cases and early 2002 for NJ state cases.

There are about 3,500 cases in NY Regional.
NY State has a few thousand 2001 PD cases left.

Indiana, Arkansas, DC have few cases, a few thousand combined for 2001 - as far as I can tell
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Have you guys looked at the 2004 budget?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2004/labor.html
The 2004 Budget includes $72 million as the first part of a two-year drive to eliminate the 300,000-case backlog in the permanent foreign labor certification program.
That's $240 per case! Unbelievable! And it is only a “First part”.
I remember DOL already spent a comparable (little less) amount in 2003.
The slow work gets paid. I guess DOL will not want to kill the hen with gold eggs. So let’s embrace for the next decade.
 
Now March 13th

some recent certifications ..

DOL RD = 03/12/03, certified 10/25
09552625
09552629
09552632
09552653

DOL RD = 03/12/03, certified 10/26
09552649
09552662
09552664
09552680
09552682

DOL RD = 03/13/03, certified 10/26
09552633
09552634
 
Recent Certifications

So I'm getting confused.
I thought DOL was sending all of its cases to BEC by Oct first week but they are still processing cases?
Or are they sending cases with RD > April or something like that ?
Or is the BEC only for Non-RIR cases as someone alluded?

will_get_there1 said:
some recent certifications ..

DOL RD = 03/12/03, certified 10/25
09552625
09552629
09552632
09552653

DOL RD = 03/12/03, certified 10/26
09552649
09552662
09552664
09552680
09552682

DOL RD = 03/13/03, certified 10/26
09552633
09552634
 
I just spoke to one of the attorneys in Rajiv Khanna's office and he is going to have a meeting with Rajiv and come back to me w.r.t requirements.He also asked me to mention the number of people who are in support of this.

As soon as I hear back from him,I shall post the requirements for the litigation process.

Thanks,


sarathynp said:
Hi Sandeep0902,
Thanks for your efforts. You may refer this quote from DOL website regarding RIR cases:
http://www.ows.doleta.gov/foreign/perm.asp
Reduction in Recruitment (RIR)
Since supervised recruitment is the most time-consuming aspect of the permanent process, use of RIR can significantly reduce the time required in the DOL process. It is possible that the DOL phase of employment-based visas can be accomplished in under one year using the RIR process.
 
I have found the following information from one of the lawyers website.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOL Begins Changes to Labor Certification Program: Immediate Effect Uncertain

October 26, 2004 - The US Department of Labor (DOL) has officially launched its Backlog Reduction Program, embarking on a major change to the permanent labor certification program, which is the first stage of the green card process for most employees.
Backlog Reduction Program: The Backlog Reduction Program is meant to deal with over 300,000 pending cases in the nationwide backlog, which includes both RIR and regular labor certification. An interim regulation in July 2004 paved the way for the establishment of two Backlog Reduction Centers (BRC) in Philadelphia and Dallas, which will be staffed by the personnel of those cities' DOL regional offices. The centers will consolidate the State and Regional functions in single Federal locations, with the goal of completing adjudication of the entire backlog in two years.

At present, labor certification cases are first filed with a State Workforce Agency (SWA), which evaluates the case and, in regular labor certification, conducts supervised recruitment. The reviewed case is then transmitted to the Federal regional office, where a second evaluation takes place before final adjudication.

Regional Offices: In a special Transitional Guidance issued in late September, DOL announced that the BRC's would begin with cases backlogged at regional offices. Several regional offices (including San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas) report large shipments of pending cases transferred to the BRC's. Other than the clear directive that cases will be processed in "first in, first out" priority date order, there are no details as yet regarding these initial transfers.

State Workforce Agencies: The Transitional Guidance also indicates that the SWA's will begin shipping unprocessed cases to the BRC in October 2004 and are to complete sending all cases by March 31, 2005. Again, no further details are yet available.

Beginning January 1, 2005, the SWA's will simply date-stamp new applications and forward them to two other new centers in Atlanta and Chicago. These cases will be handled in full by the new centers, and the SWA will discontinue their involvement in permanent labor certification processing at the end of March 2005, according to the Transitional Guidance.

Effect Uncertain: It is still too early to tell how these changes will affect cases filed with or remanded to the SWA's. The BRC's will have experienced staff from the Philadelphia and Dallas offices, but they will be assisted by a large cohort of recently trained contract personnel, so a "learning curve" is to be expected. Also, the current system is characterized by special local rules and idiosyncrasies at each office. How these variations will be dealt with at the centers will be the subject of important liaison with the DOL. Once the transfer and processing of cases begins in earnest, we should have a better understanding of what to expect.

Proposed PERM Program: Lurking behind the scenes of the Backlog Reduction Program is the Proposed PERM labor certification program, which promises a new streamlined, attestation-based process with much faster approval times. Initially proposed in 2002, the final regulation has not yet been cleared by the Administration and its details have not been published. The recent DOL Transition Guidance states its operating assumption that PERM will be promulgated by the end of 2004, but also provides a contingency plan in case PERM is further delayed.

If and when the PERM regulation is published, the SWA's will stop accepting new labor certification applications after 61 days, according to the Transitional Guidance, and presumably employers will thereafter file new applications in compliance with the new PERM regulations. If so, this is a change from the expected 120-day "waiting period" that has been suggested by the DOL.

PERM Information: Berry Appleman & Leiden will provide information on PERM in a series of informational updates and briefings as more information becomes available. Most employers will need to re-engineer their labor certification programs to comply with the new requirements of PERM, once they are known, and Berry Appleman & Leiden is prepared to provide new models and approaches to help with this challenge.
 
Guys,

There is no much use of litigation at this stage,please see a note from Rajiv Khanna on our plans for a litigation:

We may have trouble there. USDOL has already initiated firm plans to
take
care of the backlogs. This may be a waste of your
money, guys.


I guess, we all have to wait and watch this new program being implemented nationwide.Hope this is ok w/everyone...




sandeep0902 said:
I just spoke to one of the attorneys in Rajiv Khanna's office and he is going to have a meeting with Rajiv and come back to me w.r.t requirements.He also asked me to mention the number of people who are in support of this.

As soon as I hear back from him,I shall post the requirements for the litigation process.

Thanks,
 
Sandeep0902, thank you for your effort.

It is so sad to hear that. However, thank you for your effort and everyone here would truly appreciate it. Thanks. Sandeep0902.

sandeep0902 said:
Guys,

There is no much use of litigation at this stage,please see a note from Rajiv Khanna on our plans for a litigation:

We may have trouble there. USDOL has already initiated firm plans to
take
care of the backlogs. This may be a waste of your
money, guys.


I guess, we all have to wait and watch this new program being implemented nationwide.Hope this is ok w/everyone...
 
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