PERM Green Cards

Federal Immigration Law

ALL ABOUT PERM LABOR CERTIFICATION

Employment Based Option for Lawful Permanent Residence

STEP 1 Deptartment of Labor

In order to obtain employment based U.S. permanent residence or a “green

card”, in most cases, there are three steps. People who want to apply for U.S.

Permanent Residence through this route need a sponsor. The following explains

what PERM Labor Certification is and how a business can qualify to act as the

sponsor. For more detailed information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

WHAT IS PERM LABOR CERTIFICATION?

PERM Labor Certification is the first step towards U.S. Permanent Residence or

a Green Card.

1) First we work with the Employer Sponsor to determine the job title, job duties and minimum requirements such as education, experience and / or special skills. We submit this information online to the Department of Labor (DOL). Four to seven months later, the DOL issues via email to your attorney, the Prevailing Wage Determination.

2) Next, the employer sponsor performs a “test” of the local labor market

by running ads in the local print newspaper and online. Print ads are placed in the local print newspaper and online on the State Workforce Agency (DOL) website in entry level jobs and more advertisements required for higher level jobs. Resumes from potential applicants are

submitted directly to the employer for review. The recruitment process takes

approximately sixty-two days plus any time for the employer to review resumes

received and issue the recruitment report to our office. If a qualified U.S. worker

is not found, we then prepare the forms and file the PERM application online with

the Department of Labor. Normal processing time frame for action on a pending

case varies from 10-12 months but you can also check the "normal" processing time frames by clicking this link: https://flag.dol.gov/processingtimes

WHO CAN BE A SPONSOR?

In order to sponsor an immigrant in the PERM Labor Certification process:

• The sponsor must either be an incorporated (legal) business or an individual. The owner of the business or the individual must have legal status in the United States and must be either a U.S. Citizen or a U.S. Permanent Resident, except in limited cases.

• The business or individual must file taxes each year. VenLaw will need to see the business tax returns for the most recent two years so we can confirm that the company is eligible to be a sponsor from a financial point of view.

There are many ways a sponsor can qualify. One way is to show that there is positive net income and another way is to show that the business has assets. The attorney must review the tax returns and confirm eligibility before we move forward on the case. The sponsor’s tax returns will be kept confidential and will not be shown to the person being sponsored.

Does the person I am sponsoring need to work for my company now?

Answer: NO. By filing a PERM Labor Certification, the sponsor is saying that in the future, once the application for U.S. Permanent Residence is approved, the sponsor as the intention to hire the immigrant. The immigrant does not need to be working for the sponsor now. It is OK if the immigrant is lawfully working for the sponsor now, but it is not necessary.

What will I have to do as the sponsor?

Answer: The attorney will do most of the work for the sponsor. We help you

from start to finish and try to make the process as easy as possible for the

sponsor. We make sure that the sponsor follows all PERM Labor Certification

process rules and we document all recruitment for you, organize it in neat file and

give to you for your records. We also draft all the forms and provide to the

sponsor for review and signing before we submit to Department of Labor or

Immigration.

What kinds of documents will I need to give the attorney?

Answer: We will need a copy of your federal tax return for your business from

the most recently filed tax year, confirmation of your Federal Employer Tax

Identification Number and basic information about your business such as your

current number of employees, your office address, etc.

What if I have questions?

Answer: As the sponsor, you can contact us at anytime with questions. We are

happy to answer your questions and explain the process to you in detail. We will

be available throughout the entire process to you.

An Experienced Attorney you can Trust

Your Reliable Legal Partner in Immigration Law

Attorney Melissa A. McNamee

Attorney Melissa McNamee has worked exclusively in the area of immigration law since 2000. She is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. She focuses on business and family immigration law including: PERM Labor Certification, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, H-1B, L-1 A/B, TN, EB-1 International Executive or Manager, EB-1 Outstanding Researcher, NIW, EB-1 Extraordinary Ability (Artists, Musicians, Engineers), I-601 and I-601A Waivers, Family Based Immigration, Naturalization and troubleshooting complex immigration cases. Attorney Melissa opened her own practice in 2009 based in South Florida and a satellite office just north of Boston in January 2010 and both offices still work to serve clients all over the world. Attorney Melissa also mentors other attorneys and provides assistance with building immigration law skill set and managing law practice, case load and staff. Melissa earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Political Science & International Relations from Boston University, cum laude, in 2000. She then started out as a Legal Assistant in 2000, serving fortune 500 clients and tier one universities and large corporations like Novell, Inc. In 2003, University of Massachusetts, Boston awarded her a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs, cum laude, with full tuition stipend. In August 2004, she served the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review as a Legal Summer Intern serving the Miami Judges. In 2006, she graduated from Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts with a Juris Doctor degree. She is a Member of the Massachusetts Bar and focuses her practice on Federal Immigration Law only. She then joined Novell, Inc. as Immigration & Relocation Manager. and after completing law school, as In House Corporate Counsel. She was responsible for the inbound and outbound transfer of 200 plus employees per year, immigration issues in relation to Merger and Acquisition and a budget of USD$1 million plus. Since Novell, Melissa has continued to practice immigration within the private sector. She has served as a legal educator, hosting University of Miami Law students in firm internships from August 2007 to August of 2015. She taught PERM Labor Certification at Florida International University Law and at University of Miami Law Temporary Protected Status for the award winning Haitian TPS clinic program and Immigration Options for Undocumented Clients at the Health and Elder Law Clinic in September 2010. She served on the Board of Director for New England Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) from 2017 through 2020 and also volunteered as Clinic Coordinator and Pro Bono Immigration Attorney for JFON. She helped raise funds for JFON and managed the many volunteers that make JFON successful.

Email: melissa@venlawusa.com

TEAM VENLAW

Our team of bi-lingual and tri-lingual paralegals come from Nigeria, Brazil, Venezuela, Russia and the Ukraine where they worked as professional attorneys and entrepreneurs before moving to the USA.

VenLaw has offices in Burlington, MA and Coral Gables, Miami Dade County, Florida.