| AJB to AJE |
In anticipation of America's Job Bank (AJB) ceasing operations as a recruitment tool, the Backlog Elimination
Centers (BECs) will be switching to America's Job Exchange (AJE) as an alternative site for posting recruitment
advertisements for backlogged Foreign Labor Certification recruitment activity. AJE is one of the alternatives
authorized by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The BECs have coordinated with AJE staff and we
believe this transition will cause little if any disruption. According to the description provided by AJB, "AJE will
offer the same national labor exchange services that AJB provided … [using] the same screens and functions
as AJB ensuring a seamless transition between sites."
Because AJB is going to stop operations by June 30, 2007, in order to ensure full recruitment periods, the BECs
will switch to AJE as of June 1, 2007. Therefore, employers and job seekers will be able to find the job postings
on AJE starting on June 1st. Advertisements posted on AJB prior to June 1st will continue on AJB through their
full recruitment periods on AJB.
AJE can be found at: http://www.americasjobexchange.com/ |
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| 1. General BEC Information E-Mail Box: |
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In order to facilitate improved responsiveness by OFLC
to employers' questions concerning Permanent Labor Certification applications pending at the Backlog Elimination
Centers (BECs), OFLC announces the enhanced implementation of general information e-mail boxes at the BECs. Employers
or their representatives should direct their e-mails to the general information box at info@dal.dflc.us for the Dallas BEC or at info@phi.dflc.us for the Philadelphia BEC. In order to facilitate responses,
the subject line of the email should be specific regarding the question.
Please remember that these e-mail boxes are for employers/representatives who have specific issues regarding their
application. The BECs do not respond to general "status" inquiries. Current case status may be obtained with the
case number using the Public Disclosure System
(http://pds.pbls.doleta.gov/). |
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| 2. OFLC Encourages Rapid Applicant Response: |
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To enable the BECs to complete the processing of
applications as soon as possible, OFLC strongly encourages employers/representatives to send in their responses to
Notice of Findings (NOF) letters and Recruitment Report Instructions letters as soon as a response is prepared.
Although regulations set forth specific timelines for the maximum time allowed for a response,
employers/representatives need not use the full allotted time to respond. The sooner responses are received by the
BEC, the sooner they can be processed and the application can reach resolution. Therefore, OFLC encourages
employers/representatives to send in their responses as soon as possible.
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3. Notice of Finding Rebuttal Extensions:
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Consistent with item two above, in order to provide
the best service possible and eliminate the backlog of applications efficiently, OFLC announces that the BECs will no
longer routinely grant extensions to the time allotted by regulation for employers/representatives to rebut a
Notice of Findings (NOF). OFLC will only grant such extensions for the most extreme extenuating circumstances. In
the absence of a granted extension, applications for which a timely rebuttal is not posted by the deadline stated
in the NOF are denied. |
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Backlog Cases Inadvertently
Withdrawn as Re-Files
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It has come to the attention of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) that due to a technical issue,
a number of cases were inadvertently identified as pending PERM re-file applications and were withdrawn from the
backlog. OFLC is working to rectify this situation immediately by identifying the affected cases, and reinstating
them back to the appropriate processing status in proper order. This effort will be completed by November 30, 2006.
Although affected employers and their attorneys will NOT be
receiving an additional notice of reinstatement, they may verify their case has been reinstated using the Public
Disclosure System (PDS) starting December 1st. Since verification will be available online, employers
and attorneys are requested not to contact the Backlog Elimination Centers regarding status. |
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| Public Disclosure System |
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In order to provide basic case status information on specific cases, OFLC introduces the Backlog Public Disclosure
System (PDS). The purpose of the PDS is to provide a vehicle for employers, attorneys, agents, and aliens to
determine the status of an application filed at a Backlog Elimination Center (BEC). Users can access PDS by clicking
on the "Check Backlog Case Status" under "Quick Links", or by clicking here. |
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| No Contact from BEC |
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OFLC has developed a process for an employer or
attorney who believes an application should be pending at the Backlog Elimination Centers (BECs) but for which no
contact (e.g., no 45-Day Center Receipt Notification Letters (CRNL), case closed letter, or other correspondence
about the case) from the BECs has been received.
In order to provide these employers with the opportunity to have their applications processed while also guarding
against potential fraud, OFLC has established specific steps for employers or their attorneys to follow. These
steps are outlined in the FAQ located here. Non-Receipt of 45-day Letters Process for Addressing Related Requests to Reopen
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) is aware that some employers or their legal representatives who have
received "case closed" letters may not have previously received a "45-day" Center Receipt Notification Letter ("45-day
letter") from the Backlog Elimination Center (BEC) processing their respective cases. In addition, cases may have been
closed after employers or their representatives responded timely to a 45-day letter. OFLC has developed a process and
remedy available to employers who believe a case has been closed due to issues surrounding the receipt of or response
to 45-day letters. To be considered for case reopening, all requests must be received by the appropriate BEC within 30
days of the publication of this policy announcement or within 30-days of the receipt of a case closed letter, whichever
is later.
To learn more, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section here. |
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What's happening with my application
for Alien Employment Certification or
Permanent Employment in the United States? |
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As part of our effort to improve the processing of permanent labor certification applications, Permanent cases from the
Regional Offices and the State Workforce Agencies are being transferred to the ETA Backlog Processing Centers. The centers
will issue a "45-day letter" to the employer. The letter will ask the employer if it wishes to continue with the processing
of the application. Additionally, the letter will inform the employer if any information from the application is missing.
The employer will be given 45 days from the date of the letter to respond. If the employer fails to respond, the application
will be closed. |
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Why is my application being processed
by a Backlog Processing Center? |
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ETA has established two (2) Backlog Processing Centers in accordance with an interim final rule we published in the Federal
Register on July 21, 2004. The rule allows us to consolidate state and Federal functions of the application review process
into centralized locations. We estimate with adequate resources, it will take approximately 24-30 months to eliminate the
permanent program's backlog of cases. |
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Which Backlog Processing Center
hasmy application? |
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Which Backlog Processing Center has your application depends upon the area of intended employment for the job opportunity
identified in the Permanent application.
- Philadelphia Backlog Processing Center
If the area of intended employment is in the following
states or territories, questions should be directed to the Philadelphia Processing Center at the address
listed below:
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| Alabama |
Connecticut |
Delaware |
Florida |
| Georgia |
Kentucky |
Maine |
Maryland |
| Massachusetts |
Mississippi |
New Hampshire |
New Jersey |
| New York |
North Carolina |
Pennsylvania |
Puerto Rico |
| Rhode Island |
South Carolina |
Tennessee |
Vermont |
| Virgin Islands |
Virginia |
Washington DC |
West Virginia |
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U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
1 Belmont Avenue, Suite 200
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Phone: (484) 270-1500
Fax: (484) 270-1600 |
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- Dallas Backlog Processing Center
If the area of intended employment is in the following states
or territories, questions should be directed to the Dallas Processing Center at the address listed
below:
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| Alaska |
Arizona |
Arkansas |
California |
| Colorado |
Guam |
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 |
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U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
700 North Pearl St., Suite 400N
Dallas, Texas 75201
Phone: (214) 237-9111
Fax: (214) 237-9135 |
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| H-1B Visa Extensions |
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DOL has worked with CIS to set up a new system in the Backlog Elimination Centers to assist individuals who have submitted
an application for permanent labor certification prior to March 28, 2005 and need proof of the submission to apply for an
extension of an H-1B visa.
Individuals should send an e-mail to the appropriate Backlog Center explaining the need for the H-1B extension and
requesting verification that their application is pending at the Center. The email addresses are h1b7yr@dal.dflc.us for the
Dallas Center and h1b7yr@phi.dflc.us for the Philadelphia Center. Include in this request all pertinent information (employer
name and address, alien name and address, date of filing, state where filed, case number, if known).
The Backlog Center will respond to the individual with verification that the application has been pending for 365 days. |
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| Backlogged Application Receipt Dates |
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The document found at the link below was created to help employers who have applied for Permanent Foreign Labor
Certification prior to March 28, 2005 find out when their applications arrived at a backlog processing center. In order to
learn when a specific case was received by a backlog center, first locate the state where the Permanent Foreign Labor
Certification application was submitted. Then, in the next column, marked Filing Date Range, find the dates
between which the application's filing (or priority) date falls. To the right of this column is the Date
Received column, which shows the exact date that applications within a specific priority date range arrived at the
backlog center. The last column, entitled Backlog Center, shows what center received that particular
shipment.
Backlogged Application Receipt Dates |
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| Shipping Schedule: |
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Permanent case applications currently located at the SWAs and Regional Offices are being shipped to the Backlog Processing
Centers in three phases based on local office receipt date.
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| Phase |
Local Office Receipt Date |
Date Due to Center |
| 1 |
Prior to January 2003 |
Completed On 12-31-04 |
| 2 |
2003 to 2004 |
No Later Than 03-31-05 |
| 3 |
2005 |
No Later Than 04-22-05 |
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