Requirements for Schedule A Petitions filed after March 28, 2005

Requirements for Schedule A Petitions filed after March 28, 2005

Schedule A Petitions cover occupations such as Registered Nurses and Physical Therapist, and aliens of exceptional ability in the sciences or arts . These occupations are pre-certified occupations as codified in 20 CFR 656.10 and 20 CFR 656.22 for which the Secretary of the Department of Labor previously has determined that there are not sufficient US workers who are able, willing, qualified and available and that the wages and working conditions of US workers similarly employed will not be adversely affected by the employment of aliens in such occupations. On December 27, 2004, DOL published a final rule, Labor Certification for Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United States; Implementation of New System., which restructures the permanent labor certification process and deletes the current language of 20 CFR part 656 and replaces it with new text effective March 28, 2005.

Schedule A petitions filed after March 28, 2005 are required to complete the following: 1) Form I-140 with appropriate filing fees 2) An uncertified form ETA-9089, in duplicate, signed in the original by an authorized official of the petitioning organization, the alien, and the representative, if any 3) A wage determination issued by the State Workforce Agency (SWA) having jurisdiction over the proposed area where the job opportunity exists, 4) a copy of the posted notice, 5) copies of any and all in-house media, whether electronic or printed, in accordance with the normal procedures used for the recruitment of similar positions to the position specified in the Form 9089 in the employer’s organization, 6) for petitions filed for registered nurses, a full unrestricted permanent license to practice nursing in the state of intended employment, CGFNS certificate issued by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools or evidence that the alien has passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), administered by the National Council of State Board of Nursing. For petitions filed for physical therapists, a permanent license to practice in the state of intended employment or, a letter or statement, signed by an authorized state physical therapy licensing official, stating that the beneficiary is qualified to take that state’s written licensing examination for physical therapist

One copy of the form ETA-9089 must be forwarded by the USCIS to the Chief, Division of Foreign Labor Certification, upon approval of the petition, identifying the occupation, the immigration officer who made the determination, and the date of the determination. 20 CFR 656.15(f).

The ETA-9089 provided with the I-140 must be accompanied by a prevailing wage determination issued by the SWA. For a supporting wage determination to be valid, the ending validity date may not be less than 90 days or more than 1 year from the date of the SWA determination at the time of filing of the I-140. The prevailing wage required to be paid must be no less than 100 percent of the prevailing wage determination.

Labor application notice must be given and documented by the employer. This is done by giving notice to either the bargaining representative of the employees or if no bargaining representative, by posting the notice at the facility or physical location of employment. In addition, the employer must publish the notice in any and all in-house media. The notice must be posted between 30 days and 180 days prior to the filing of the form I-140 petition. These new requirements apply only to I-140 petitions. Additional requirement apply to I-485 adjustment application such as Visa Screen Certificate among others.

Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does not create any attorney-client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, P.C. This article is not a solicitation.

Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes was President of the Philippine American Bar Association for 2005. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive former CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kureyeslaw@gmail.com; visit at www.kenreyeslaw.com