The Immigration attorneys at Chamberlain Hrdlicka have considerable experience handling the entire spectrum of immigration matters for individuals, families and businesses both in the U.S. and abroad. We have represented clients in all parts of the United States and in more than 100 countries.
We have represented companies and non-profit organizations both in the U.S. and abroad in obtaining U.S. immigrant and non-immigrant visas through the employment, business and investment categories, as well as in U.S. citizenship matters. Additional expertise includes employment cases, labor certifications and consular work.
For individuals, we have handled a wide range of immigration matters including visa processing, naturalizations and defense of removal (deportation) cases. And with support from the Tax Planning group, have assisted in pre-immigration tax planning.
While the constant change in U.S. immigration laws presents challenges for many in this area of work, we are at the forefront of this rapidly changing field of law. As members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and founding members of IMMLAW, Chamberlain’s immigration team actively participates in the exchange of ideas and information in emerging areas so that our clients can benefit from the most innovative techniques in the ever-changing immigration environment.
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Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) applications are filed with the Department of Labor by an employer to permanently hire an employee. And while most applications are certified without an audit, some may not be certified immediately. Pursuant to 20 C.F.R. §656.20, a certifying officer, upon review of a Permanent Application, may issue an Audit Letter in order to obtain additional information or due to a random request for quality control purposes.
When an Audit Letter is issued, an employer will have only 30 days to respond and provide all relevant PERM documents. Given the need to obtain a fair amount of documentary evidence over this short period of time, we recommend that the attorney representing the employer begins to consider the preparation of an audit file almost immediately. A good rule of thumb is to wait no more than 2 to 3 weeks for an approval, after the PERM online application has been submitted for certification, before you start audit preparations.
Early preparations will not only ensure that the employer responds in a timely fashion, but it prevents a denial of the PERM application, due to a late or incomplete response to the audit letter. After successfully completing the most difficult parts of the application, how frustrating would it be that the PERM application has been denied because the employer was not provided with advance notice of the possibility of an audit? Quite unimaginable!
Some primary documents that should be compiled for every PERM application are the recruitment documents. These documents should be maintained in an organized fashion throughout recruitment process and the final documents should placed together in a separate audit folder. These recruitment documents usually include:
- Confirmation emails and dated screenshots of SWA Job Order Posting
- Tear sheets for the mandatory newspaper advertisements in Sunday publications
- Confirmation documents for the Internal Notice of Filing placed at the worksite
In closing, while the certifying officer may grant one 30-day extension for the preparation of an audit file, I strongly encourage fellow attorneys to practice advance preparation. In a world of uncertainty, too many unknowns could delay the organization of these documents. Better to be prepared, than to be denied. Wouldn’t you agree?