Supervised Recruitment

Instead of issuing a denial of a PERM labor certification, the Certifying Officer (CO) at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) may order a petitioning employer to participate in what’s called “supervised recruitment.”

What is Supervised Recruitment?

Supervised recruitment is exactly what it sounds like: DOL plays an active, close, and supervisory role over an employer’s recruitment activities from a PERM application’s start to finish. Supervised recruitment is often ordered after a CO’s receipt of an unsatisfactory audit response, or when an employer has previously failed to adequately respond to an audit letter. It can be ordered for either an already filed PERM petition or for a new application. Needless to say, a sponsoring employer under this order should not initiate recruitment without the CO’s approval, as the CO will direct where, when, and how recruitment is to be conducted.

The Process

Supervised recruitment is much more demanding than unsupervised recruitment, not least because the CO oversees each step of each activity. We list the areas where supervised recruitment differs from regular PERM recruitment below.

  • The employer submits a draft of proposed advertisements to the CO for approval no later than 30 days after receiving the order of supervised recruitment.

    -A one-time, 30-day extension of this deadline is permitted, but only at the CO’s discretion.

  • In terms of the advertisement’s content, the ad must fully describe the job opportunity, including such information as the offered wage, which must meet or exceed the prevailing wage, and a summary of the minimum acceptable job qualifications. Further, the ad must explicitly describe any opportunities for training, provided the job would typically require the employer to offer job training.
  • If the CO approves an advertisement, he or she will thereafter direct the employer on where to place it.

    -Typically, COs order ads to run in newspapers, and if a newspaper is chosen, then the advertisement must run in it for three consecutive days, one of which must be a Sunday.

    -The employer subsequently notifies the CO when the approved advertisement will run.

  • Importantly, CO-approved ads must direct applicants to submit their resumes and other materials to the CO, not to the employer, and accordingly include the CO’s contact information.
  • After receiving job applications, the CO forwards them to the employer, thereby providing the CO a direct and thorough lens into the applicant pool.
  • If the employer itself receives any resumes as a result of CO-approved ads, the employer must consider them, too, and include these in the final recruitment report submitted to the CO.
  • The CO has the authority to require additional, unspecified recruitment efforts satisfying the same objectives.

After Supervised Recruitment

The CO will advise the employer when the recruitment process has ended. When recruitment concludes, the CO will direct the employer to compile recruitment-related documentation and create a recruitment report, which must be submitted no later than 30 days after the CO’s request (Note that a one-time, 30-day extension, at the CO’s discretion, is possible.) The CO will set a date by which all evidence must be submitted.

The petitioning employer must sign the recruitment report, and take pains to ensure it comprises detailed and specific information regarding the recruitment process. This may seem excessive, given that the CO was present in a supervisory capacity throughout recruitment, but it’s nonetheless required. If an employer fails to respond within the timeframe given by the CO, the CO will simply deny the employer’s application.

Overall, PERM labor certification is an extremely complicated and time-sensitive procedure. We recommend that you consult with an experienced immigration attorney. Over the years, Zhang & Associates has successfully handled hundreds of PERM cases. If you would like to contact us, we’re available by phone at (713) 771-8433, or you can visit us at one of our eight U.S. locations. We’re also conveniently available by e-mail at info@hooyou.com. Our attorneys will use their experience, expertise, and teamwork to ensure the highest quality of service for your PERM case.

For more detailed information on PERM labor certification, including minimum requirements and USCIS policies, refer to the following links:

Updated 04/14/2017