H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently overturned the decision of a Certifying Officer (CO) to deny labor certification for the position of “Computer Programmer.”

Upon evaluating an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO denied the Labor Application because the Employer ran its recruitment advertising in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, as he believed it was not the newspaper of general circulation for Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was located in Bentonville, AR and the newspaper was headquartered in Little Rock, AR. He believed that the Arkansas Democrat Gazette would not bring replies from available US workers in the area of intended employment.

The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In the argument, the Employer declared that “The Arkansas Democrat Gazette is most likely to bring responses from available US workers because it is the most widely circulated newspaper in Bentonville and the most widely circulated Sunday newspaper in all of Arkansas.” They submitted several pieces of evidence to back up their claims including circulation numbers from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Mondo Times website. One of these documents stated there is no other newspaper in Bentonville, AR.

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the decision of a Certifying Officer (CO) to deny labor certification for the position of “Senior Software Engineer.”

The CO denied the labor certification stating the alternative requirements for the position were different (not substantially equivalent) from the primary job requirements on the ETA Form 9089. The Employer mentions as an alternative requirement for this position – 12 years of related experience as being equivalent to possessing a Bachelor’s degree. On the Form, the Employer lists the “primary requirements of a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Electronic Engineering, or a closely related field, and 60 months of experience” in the job offered. The CO cited a violation of PERM Regulation 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(h)(4)(i).

The Employer requested reconsideration of the denial stating it only listed one education and experience requirement; therefore, it did not accept an alternative combination of education & experience. They argued that their recognition of 12 years of experience as the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree is a widely used standard in the IT industry and among U.S. educational institutions.