Many US visa holders obtain their lawful permanent residence (green cards) through the employer-sponsored PERM/I-140 process. The first step in this process is the labor certification or PERM process, wherein the employer conducts a good-faith test of the US labor market in order to confirm to the Department of Labor (DOL) that there are no willing and qualified US workers to fulfill the permanent employment position offered to the visa holder.
The PERM process requires the employer to explain the terms and conditions of its permanent job offer, including the position’s title, worksite, requirements, and duties. These details are necessary to inform potentially interested US applicants of the position’s opening. The tricky part comes in when one of these parameters changes, either during or after the PERM is filed. In order to avoid future obstacles in the green card process, it is highly recommended that the employer and employee inform EIG of any changes in the nature of the job offered as soon as possible.
Whether or not a change in the parameter of the offered job will materially affect the PERM application depends on the nature of the change itself. For mere title changes, such as from Software Engineer I to Software Engineer II, a revision or re-doing of the PERM application is not typically required. However, more substantive changes such as moving from an Individual Contributor to a Managerial role, or moving from a software engineering to a product design role, may require that the PERM be restarted. In addition, changes in job location require a new PERM process.
These types of changes should be communicated as soon as they present themselves, in order to ensure that all potential immigration-related ramifications are timely addressed. If you have any questions about this or any other green card-related issue, please do not hesitate to contact your EIG attorney.