[Federal Register: July 19, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 137)]
[Notices]
[Page 41430-41438]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19jy05-83]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Information Regarding the Transfer of Temporary Program Cases to
the Atlanta and Chicago National Processing Centers, the Processing
Locations for Foreign Labor Certification Applications Filed With State
Workforce Agencies and the Department of Labor, and the Filing of
Applications for Certification Under the E-3 Worker Visa Program
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Department of
Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing this notice to
clarify the locations where applications may be filed and are being
processed, respectively, for the permanent labor certification and
major temporary foreign labor certification programs administered by
ETA's Division of Foreign Labor Certification; to clarify key
procedures within each program that may be impacted by ETA's transition
from region-based to center-based review; and to provide initial
guidance for employers filing applications for certification under the
new E-3 worker visa program for Australian professionals seeking to
temporarily work in the United States. Recent reforms in several of
these programs, as well as the streamlining and centralization of
operations and filing procedures to better serve the needs of
stakeholders, have required periodic changes to filing locations. This
notice describes and further clarifies current filing requirements for
each major program. A chart attached to this notice provides users with
a convenient, one-stop reference on program-specific filing
requirements. This chart will be updated and published in the Federal
Register and posted on DOL's Web site.
DATES: Effective Date: This notice is effective immediately.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Carlson, Chief, Division of
Foreign Labor Certification, U.S. Department of Labor, Room C-4312, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: 202-693-3010
(this is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To enhance effectiveness and eliminate undue
burden on program users, the Department has reformed its process to
issue permanent labor certifications and continues to review and
strengthen its various temporary labor certification programs,
primarily those leading to H-1B, H-1B1, H-2B, and H-2A worker visas.
The Department's long-term goal is to streamline, automate, and
centralize operations and processes that may have been duplicative,
lengthy, or unduly burdensome. Ongoing and proposed changes are
designed to improve the efficiency and integrity of each program.
The purpose of this notice is threefold. First, the notice seeks to
update the filing instructions for applications to the temporary labor
certification programs, in light of the Department's plans to transfer
the Federal processing responsibility related to H-2A and H-2B program
applications, as well as applications requiring special handling, to
its National Processing Centers located in Atlanta and Chicago.
Accordingly, much of the information below related to these
applications is new.
Second, the notice seeks to present--clearly, briefly, and in a
single document--basic filing instructions for key labor certification
programs, including the permanent program. In the context of
significant changes to labor certification operations and activities,
the Department believes stakeholders would benefit from summarized,
organized guidance that establishes a baseline for filings going
forward. In those cases in which guidance is unchanged--notably, for
the permanent program--this notice restates the instructions that have
been provided in recent guidance but, for clarity, refers back to each
of the notices originally published. As an aid, this notice attaches a
chart, which the Department will update as needed, for use as a one-
stop reference on filing requirements for each of the programs listed
below.
Third, the Department seeks to provide initial guidance governing
the filing of applications for labor certification under the E-3 worker
visa program.
H-1B and H-1B1 Temporary Professional Workers
Application submission: Labor Condition Applications filed under
the H-1B program, as well as the H-1B1 program created pursuant to
legislation implementing the United States-Chile and United States-
Singapore Free Trade Agreements, may be filed electronically, by U.S.
ail, or by facsimile. Employers complete an electronic Labor Condition
Application (LCA) through DOL's Foreign Labor Certification LCA Online
System at https://www.lca.doleta.gov. In addition, employers nationwide
may mail or fax LCAs on ETA Form 9035 to ETA's Backlog Elimination
Center in Philadelphia, as follows:
ETA Backlog Elimination Center, P.O. Box 13640, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19101; (800) 397-0478 (fax).
Employers wishing to withdraw a Labor Condition Application may do
so by contacting the ETA National Office as noted below. In addition,
the Department has proposed to require electronic filing of H-1B/H-1B1
applications in most instances. See 70 FR 16774. A printable copy of
the ETA Form 9035 is available at https://atlas.doleta.gov/foreign/preh1BForm.asp.
See 20 CFR part 655 subpart H, 69 FR 69412, and the
Department's website, https://www.doleta.gov/business/gw/guestwkr, for
additional details on H-1B and H-1B1 filing requirements and use of
this form.
Seventh-year extensions: Employers are asked to e-mail any and all
inquiries regarding seventh-year H-1B extensions to the Backlog
Elimination Center where their permanent labor certification case is
pending. Inquiries may be submitted to the Philadelphia Backlog
Elimination Center at h1b7yr@phi.dflc.us, and to the Dallas Backlog
Elimination Center at h1b7yr@dal.dflc.us. Please see
https://atlas.doleta.gov/foreign/times.asp
for a display of the SWA case
shipping schedule and respective Center locations.
H-2B Temporary Nonagricultural Program
Application Submission: Employers continue to file an ETA 750, Part
A, Application for Alien Employment Certification with the State
Workforce Agency serving the area of intended employment. State
Workforce Agencies will continue their traditional practice of review
and recruitment oversight.
Note: State Workforce Agencies (SWAs), effective Monday, July
18, 2005, will send processed H-2B applications to the corresponding
National Processing Center instead of an ETA Regional Office or
Backlog Elimination Center. In other words, all H-2B applications,
once reviewed by the SWA, will be sent to either the Atlanta or
Chicago National Processing Center. Current state processing time
requirements remain unchanged.
State distribution: Each Center will accept applications
corresponding to the areas of intended employment listed below.
Atlanta National Processing Center: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
ississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
[[Page 41431]]
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, or the
Virgin Islands.
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration,
Atlanta National Processing Center, Harris Tower, 233 Peachtree Street,
NE., Suite 410, Atlanta, Georgia 30303; Phone: (404) 893-0101; Fax:
(404) 893-4642.
Chicago National Processing Center: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas,
Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, or Guam.
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration,
Chicago National Processing Center, 844 North Rush Street, 12th Floor,
Chicago, Illinois 60611; Phone: (312) 886-8000; Fax: (312) 886-1688.
This process does not apply to H-2B applications for boilermakers,
entertainers, logging, and professional team sports, which are treated
separately below.
Boilermakers and professional team sports: The H-2B filing process
for professional team sport applications and emergency applications for
boilermakers shall continue unchanged, i.e., employers will continue to
submit these applications to ETA's National Office for processing.
Questions regarding applications on these job classifications may be
addressed to:
Leticia Sierra, Manager, Temporary Programs, U.S. Department of
Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Division of Foreign
Labor Certification, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room C-4312,
Washington, DC 20210. (202) 693-3010 (this is not a toll-free number).
Entertainers: The Federal review process for H-2B entertainers
shall change effective July 18, 2005. Employers will continue to file
applications with state Offices Specializing in Entertainment (OSEs) in
Austin, New York, and Sacramento. However, rather than forward
applications to ETA Regional Offices in New York, Dallas, and San
Francisco, these state offices will now send applications to the
Chicago Processing Center for a determination, as noted below:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
H-2B entertainers previously sent to: Send to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York City Regional Office............. Chicago National Processing
Center.
Dallas Regional Office.................... Chicago National Processing
Center.
San Francisco Regional Office............. Chicago National Processing
Center.
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Applications for the Logging Industry: Employers and/or agents
should continue to submit applications to their respective State
Workforce Agencies, i.e., Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.
However, effective July 18, 2005, SWA staff must forward processed
applications to the Atlanta National Processing Center rather than to
the ETA Boston Regional Office. Processing time requirements remain
unchanged.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previously sent to: Send to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Regional Office.................... Atlanta National Processing
Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inquiries (all H-2B applications): Employers and/or agents having
questions regarding the status of their H-2B application(s) should use
the contact information noted for the Atlanta and Chicago National
Processing Centers.
H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program
Centralizing H-2A Federal Review: State Workforce Agencies will
continue their current responsibilities with respect to the receipt and
processing of H-2A applications. These responsibilities include
prevailing wage/prevailing practice surveys, recruitment of domestic
workers, and housing inspections. Effective August 1, 2005, employers
will file original copies of their H-2A applications directly with
either the National Processing Centers in Atlanta and Chicago,
depending on area of intended employment, and simultaneously file a
copy with the appropriate SWA. The SWAs will coordinate all activities
regarding the processing of the H-2A applications with the appropriate
National Processing Center for their jurisdiction, as noted above.
Specifically, SWAs currently sending H-2A applications to the
following ETA offices should send materials bearing on each
application--including housing inspection results, prevailing wage
surveys, and prevailing practice surveys--as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
H-2A applications previously sent to: Send to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Francisco Regional Office............. Chicago National Processing
Center
Seattle Regional Office................... Chicago National Processing
Center
Denver Regional Office.................... Chicago National Processing
Center
Dallas Regional Office (Backlog Center)... Chicago National Processing
Center
Chicago Regional Office................... Chicago National Processing
Center
Boston Regional Office.................... Atlanta National Processing
Center
New York Regional Office.................. Atlanta National Processing
Center
Philadelphia Regional Office (Backlog Atlanta National Processing
Center). Center
Atlanta Regional Office................... Atlanta National Processing
Center
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
H-2A program fees previously sent to: Send to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Francisco Regional Office............. Chicago National Processing
Center
Seattle Regional Office................... Chicago National Processing
Center
Denver Regional Office.................... Chicago National Processing
Center
Dallas Regional Office (Backlog Center)... Chicago National Processing
Center
Chicago Regional Office................... Chicago National Processing
Center
Boston Regional Office.................... Atlanta National Processing
Center
New York Regional Office.................. Atlanta National Processing
Center
Philadelphia Regional Office (Backlog Atlanta National Processing
Center). Center
Atlanta Regional Office................... Atlanta National Processing
Center
------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-3 Professional Workers (Australia)
The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the
Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005, Public Law 109-13, was
signed by the President on May 11, 2005. The Act established a new
nonimmigrant visa category for Australian professionals seeking to work
in the United States. The Act provides for 10,500 new visas per fiscal
year for Australian nationals seeking temporary work in "specialty
occupations," as defined under the H-1B provisions of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA).
The statute requires that sponsoring employers file a Labor
Condition Application with the Department of Labor. To certify a
position for E-3 status, the Department must find--and certify to the
Departments of Homeland Security and State--that the employer's
attestations meet the requirements of
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INA Sec. 212(t)(1), the section governing labor certifications for the
H-1B1 program.
The Department is coordinating with other Federal agencies with an
interest or potential role in the E-3 program to determine and issue
further guidance on the specific parameters of the program and how the
program will be administered. In the interim, the Department recommends
employers seeking to sponsor workers under the E-3 category:
<bullet> Use Form ETA 9035, Labor Condition Application for H-1B &
H-1B1 Nonimmigrants, to request certification under the E-3 program.
<bullet> Print "E-3--Australia--to be processed" at the top of
each page of the form. Please print legibly and use blue or black ink.
<bullet> File the completed LCA with the Department of Labor's
National Office.
Questions regarding E-3 Labor Condition Applications may be
addressed to:
Leticia Sierra, Manager, Temporary Programs, U.S. Department of
Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Division of Foreign
Labor Certification, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room C-4312,
Washington, DC 20210; (202) 693-3010 (this is not a toll-free number).
Permanent Labor Certification Program
New regulations, effective March 28, 2005, implement a reengineered
permanent labor certification program through the use of a new Program
Electronic Review Management (PERM) system. See 69 FR 77326. Employers
requesting labor certifications for the permanent employment of aliens
under this new regulation must use a new ETA Form 9089, Application for
Permanent Employment Certification, which they must file directly with
DOL either electronically or by U.S. Mail to the appropriate National
Processing Center. The Department will not accept applications
submitted by facsimile.
Permanent program applications are processed at DOL's National
Processing Centers, located in Atlanta and Chicago. The Department
opened these centers in December 2004 to review applications filed
under the PERM system. The National Processing Centers will also
process applications filed under the previous regulation that meet the
refiling requirements of the new program. See 20 CFR 656.17(d).
Electronic applications: For faster processing, the Department
encourages employers to file applications using the Permanent Online
System at https://www.plc.doleta.gov. After employers register and
establish an account, they or their representatives (for whom they have
established a subaccount) can proceed to complete the application
electronically. An application filed electronically will be immediately
routed to the National Processing Center responsible for the geographic
area serving the area of intended employment.
Mailed applications: Employers electing to file non-electronically
must submit applications in accordance with the guidance published
previously in the Federal Register governing which states correspond to
which National Processing Center and restated below. See 70 FR 6734.
The PERM application must be mailed to the National Processing Center
listed below that covers the state or territory in which the area of
intended employment is located, as identified below.
Atlanta National Processing Center: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
ississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont,
Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin
Islands
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration,
Atlanta National Processing Center, Harris Tower, 233 Peachtree Street,
NE., Suite 410, Atlanta, Georgia 30303; Phone: (404) 893-0101. Fax:
(404) 893-4642.
Chicago National Processing Center: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas,
Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, or Guam
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration,
Chicago National Processing Center, 844 North Rush Street, 12th Floor,
Chicago, Illinois 60611; Phone: (312) 886-8000; Fax: (312) 353-3352.
Applications submitted under the permanent labor certification
regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005: Applications for
permanent labor certification filed under the regulation in effect
until March 28, 2005, are being processed in either one of two Backlog
Elimination Centers established by the Department in Dallas and
Philadelphia, based upon the state in which the area of intended
employment is located. Previously filed applications pending in SWA
offices or DOL Regional Offices have been transferred for centralized
processing in Dallas and Philadelphia. Please see
https://atlas.doleta.gov/foreign/times.asp
for a display of the SWA case
shipping schedule and respective Center locations.
Philadelphia Backlog Elimination Center: Same states as covered by
the Atlanta National Processing Center, ETA/DFLC Backlog Elimination
Center, U.S. Department of Labor, 1 Belmont Avenue, Suite 200, Bala
Cynwyd, Pennsylvania 19004; (484) 270-1500 (phone); (484) 270-1600
(fax).
Dallas Backlog Elimination Center: Same states as covered by the
Chicago National Processing Center, ETA/DFLC Backlog Elimination
Center, U.S. Department of Labor, 700 North Pearl Street, Suite 400 N,
Dallas, Texas 75201; (214) 237-9111 (phone); (214) 237-9135 (fax).
Professional team sports: The DOL ETA National Office will continue
to process employer applications for certification of permanent
positions in professional team sports.
For all other Foreign Labor Certification Program matters, e.g.,
PERM Schedule A and Sheepherders, etc., please forward questions to the
ETA National Office at the address noted above.
For additional information on requirements for filing applications
under the PERM program and a listing of Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) for both PERM and backlogged application processing, please see
https://atlas.doleta.gov/foreign.
Signed in Washington, DC this 13th day of July, 2005.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
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[FR Doc. 05-14120 Filed 7-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-C
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