CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School Science Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since September 2015. Based on her education and credentials, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification.  Our client eventually retained us in September 2019.

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM. Take note that the PERM application could only be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on February 7, 2020. The ads were also done.  On April 16, 2020, we filed PERM. 

On September 24, 2020, the Department of Labor issued an audit. The DOL requested documents from the Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on October 20, 2020.   

Eventually, on March 22, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can now file the I-140 petition at any time.

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CASE: EB-3 I-140

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

LOCATION: Tucson, AZ

Our client has a current employer who was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since July 2017. Based on our client’s education and work background, she is eligible for EB-3 classification.  

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on April 8, 2019.  On August 7, 2019, we filed PERM. 

On January 7, 2020, the Department of Labor issued an audit. The DOL requested documents from Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on January 23, 2020.  Eventually, on June 16, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. 

We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition filing. We submitted the “ability to pay” letter for the I-140 petition application. We included the job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on July 24, 2020, via regular processing service. We also filed her I-485 adjustment of status application simultaneously since her priority date was current. On January 22, 2021, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client’s teaching license. Our office immediately filed the RFE response. Eventually, on March 18, 2021, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipina client was approved..

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Physician’s Office

BENEFICIARY: Nepalese Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Bridgeport, CT

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she was a certified nurse practitioner, she was eligible for EB2 and “Schedule A” classification.

The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without first going to the DOL for a labor certification. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. The position of Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination.

We filed the I-140 application on March 4, 2021 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents.

In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why nurse practitioners must fall under the Schedule A designation.  On March 17, 2021, without any Request for Evidence (RFE), the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Since the priority date for Nepalese nationals is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A 

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Registered Nurse in the Philippines

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is Filipina registered nurse who currently works in the Philippines. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140) as a registered nurse. 

Since she is a registered nurse, she is eligible for “Schedule A” classification. The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without first going to the DOL for a labor certification. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. The position of Professional Nurses is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a nursing degree and has a Texas Registered Nurse License. Our firm told her that her prospective employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on August 11, 2020 and we started on her Prevailing Wage Request. Her PW request was filed on August 12, 2020. 

We filed the I-140 application on February 5, 2021 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, financial ability to pay letter, and other necessary supporting documents. Eventually, on February 23, 2021, our client’s I-140 petition was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). Now, our client can file an immigrant visa application based on the approved I-140 petition.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Care Center in Houston, TX 

BENEFICIARY: Filipino Information Technology Director in the Philippines

Our client has a prospective employer willing to petition him for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and currently works for an IT consulting company in the Philippines. We were retained on February 2019. 

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, the job order was filed on April 28, 2020.  On July 7, 2020, we filed PERM. On February 11, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipino beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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CASE: H-1B Change of Employer

PETITIONER: Dental Clinic

BENEFICIARY: Indian Dentist

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH 

Our client is a dental clinic located in Cleveland, Ohio.  They contacted our office in November 2020 to seek legal assistance for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from India and he obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree and a dental license. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an associate dentist which qualifies as a specialty occupation. 

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had his H-1B visa from his previous employer.  However, his H-1B visa was not expired yet, and he wanted to extend his H-1B status on the change of employer basis. 

Upon retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on December 7, 2020 via regular processing.  Since this petition was based on a change of employer, this petition was exempt from the annual H-1B cap.  Thus, we could file prior to April 1.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on December 22, 2020 even though it was filed via regular processing.  Now the Beneficiary can work for his Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and he can work there for next three years.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

LOCATION: Mohave Valley, AZ

Our client has an employer that was willing to petition for a third-preference teaching position (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since July 2014. Based on our client’s education and license background, she is eligible for EB-3 classification.  Our client eventually retained us in May 2019.

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on September 13, 2019.  On January 7, 2020, we promptly filed PERM. 

On July 28, 2020, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from the Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on August 18, 2020.   

Eventually, on December 23, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A 

EMPLOYER: Health Service Ambulatory Facility

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Registered Nurse

LOCATION: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

Our client is Filipina Registered Nurse and her current employer-sponsor is willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she has a registered nurse license and the proffered position for her is a registered nurse at the nursing care facility, the petitioner wanted to try going for a “Schedule A” classification. They also wanted to do EB3 (requiring at least a Bachelor’s degree).

The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without having to file a Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. 

Our client has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and has worked for the Petitioner as a registered nurse for several years.  She also has a registered nursing license in Northern Mariana Islands. Our office was retained and we started on the Prevailing Wage Determination filing and other related matters.

Once the prevailing wage was determined, we filed the I-140 application on April 13, 2020 via regular processing. We included a job offer letter, notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents. In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why the nurse manager position falls under a Schedule A and EB3 designation.

Eventually, on December 17, 2020, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-3 I-140 petition.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Baptist Church
BENEFICIARY: Korean Assistant Pastor
LOCATION: Cary, NC

Our client is a Baptist church in Cary, NC which was willing to petition an Assistant Pastor position for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client’s prospective employee has a master’s degree in Theology. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that this employer can petition him as an Assistant Pastor.  Second preference petitions for Koreans are current, which means that if a PERM Labor Certification for a second preference position gets approved, the I-140 and I-485 could be filed simultaneously. Based on our client’s prospective employee’s credentials, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-2 classification for his I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in on September 6, 2018. 

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On April 5, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  Then, our office filed the job order on January 6, 2020.  On June 18, 2020, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 22, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Korean beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Dental Group in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Canadian Dentist

Our client is from Canada, currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on an H-1B status. His employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as an associate dentist. Based on our client’s education and professional background, he is eligible for EB-2 classification. 

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM. PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On December 10, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on April 1, 2020.  On June 8, 2020, we promptly PERM. On December 16, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Canadian beneficiary. Now the I-140 petition can be filed.

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