e mail reponse from vec@vaworkforce.com
I sent my email to Governor Warner and i got the following response. The mail is CC to "Elaine.Wittel@governor.virginia.gov" also.
Dear Ms. Vermani:
This is in response to your e-mail inquiry to Governor Warner,
concerning the processing of Applications for Alien Employment
Certification and the backlog in Virginia.
The U. S. Department of Labor requires the state's Alien
Certification staff to process all applications according to the date
received and priority is given to "Reduction in Recruitment"
applications where the employer has recruited for U. S. workers prior
to
submitting the application. As you are aware, changes in the
immigration laws with a deadline of April 30, 2001, caused a large
influx of applications. In Virginia we received over 18,000
applications in March and April. We are currently processing Reduction
in Recruitment cases received in March 2002, and Non-Reduction in
Recruitment cases received in May 2001. The U. S. Department of Labor
will only allow us to expedite applications if a child is ageing out.
Your application was filed with Non-Reduction in Recruitment
applications since the employer did not submit prior recruitment
documentation with the application.
We have made efforts to reduce our backlog by hiring some hourly wage
staff and working some overtime, but with the limited resources (DOL
Grant Funds) we have been unable to eliminate the backlog of
applications.
Virginia has consistently been one of the top ten states as far as the
number of applications filed yearly. Our record in processing the
backlog caused by the April 30 deadline is well ahead of the other
large
states that have received a significant number of applications. For
example:
Regular RIR
New Jersey April 2001 November 2001
New York March 2001 April 2001
District of Columbia April 2001 April 2001
Maryland April 2001 August 2001
Texas April 2001 May 2003
California April 2001 November 2002
Alaska February 2001 February 2003
As you can see, Virginia is making more progress in eliminating the
backlog than many of the other states with large number of
applications.
We are dividing our processing efforts between the RIR and Regular
applications. It would be unfair to the employers who filed for
regular
processing to ignore them and put all our effort on RIR cases. The
only
reason we and other states are making faster progress with RIR cases is
that without the recruitment effort required for regular application,
the RIR cases take considerable less time to process. The disadvantage
of the RIR process is that if the Department of Labor denies the RIR
request, the application is returned to the state for processing with
the regular applications.
If additional information is needed, please contact Richard Primmer at
(804) 236-2717.
Sincerely,
Dolores A. Esser
Commissioner
Virginia Employment Commission
UnQuote
I sent my email to Governor Warner and i got the following response. The mail is CC to "Elaine.Wittel@governor.virginia.gov" also.
Dear Ms. Vermani:
This is in response to your e-mail inquiry to Governor Warner,
concerning the processing of Applications for Alien Employment
Certification and the backlog in Virginia.
The U. S. Department of Labor requires the state's Alien
Certification staff to process all applications according to the date
received and priority is given to "Reduction in Recruitment"
applications where the employer has recruited for U. S. workers prior
to
submitting the application. As you are aware, changes in the
immigration laws with a deadline of April 30, 2001, caused a large
influx of applications. In Virginia we received over 18,000
applications in March and April. We are currently processing Reduction
in Recruitment cases received in March 2002, and Non-Reduction in
Recruitment cases received in May 2001. The U. S. Department of Labor
will only allow us to expedite applications if a child is ageing out.
Your application was filed with Non-Reduction in Recruitment
applications since the employer did not submit prior recruitment
documentation with the application.
We have made efforts to reduce our backlog by hiring some hourly wage
staff and working some overtime, but with the limited resources (DOL
Grant Funds) we have been unable to eliminate the backlog of
applications.
Virginia has consistently been one of the top ten states as far as the
number of applications filed yearly. Our record in processing the
backlog caused by the April 30 deadline is well ahead of the other
large
states that have received a significant number of applications. For
example:
Regular RIR
New Jersey April 2001 November 2001
New York March 2001 April 2001
District of Columbia April 2001 April 2001
Maryland April 2001 August 2001
Texas April 2001 May 2003
California April 2001 November 2002
Alaska February 2001 February 2003
As you can see, Virginia is making more progress in eliminating the
backlog than many of the other states with large number of
applications.
We are dividing our processing efforts between the RIR and Regular
applications. It would be unfair to the employers who filed for
regular
processing to ignore them and put all our effort on RIR cases. The
only
reason we and other states are making faster progress with RIR cases is
that without the recruitment effort required for regular application,
the RIR cases take considerable less time to process. The disadvantage
of the RIR process is that if the Department of Labor denies the RIR
request, the application is returned to the state for processing with
the regular applications.
If additional information is needed, please contact Richard Primmer at
(804) 236-2717.
Sincerely,
Dolores A. Esser
Commissioner
Virginia Employment Commission
UnQuote
