Previously published in In The News, Nonimmigrant Visas
Employers petitioning for prevailing wage determinations from the Department of Labor (DOL) are experiencing delays. Prevailing wage determinations are required for labor certification filings for permanent residency (PERM), and other non-immigrant visas such as the H-2B. These determinations can also be sought for H-1B, E-3 and other visa petitions for which the prevailing wage in the area of employment must be paid by the sponsoring employer. Currently, wage determinations that were once taking weeks to be issued is now taking months. After a halt in determinations, as of August 25th the DOL is reportedly making prevailing wage determinations from requests made in early June. The DOL is reportedly delayed due to its compliance with a June 15, 2011 court order from the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The court ordered the DOL to redo numerous prevailing wage determinations to comply with the August 30, 2010 decision in CATA v. Solis. That decision required the DOL to issue new H-2B prevailing wage regulations.
Employers and sponsors are well advised to request determination of prevailing wage as early as possible.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
