Finnan, Fleischut & Associates

DOL Final Rule on LC Substitutions

Early in 2006, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with regard to one of its most pressing and longest-standing concerns: prevention of fraud and abuse in the labor certification system.  For many foreign workers, labor certification is still the first step toward securing employment-based permanent residency.  Today, more than one year later, DOL has published a Final Rule in the Federal Register addressing the matter.

This alert summarizes the Final Rule and compares its key elements to the proposed rule of 2006.  The Final Rule takes effect on July 16, 2007.

1. Prohibits the substitution or change to the identity of alien beneficiaries on any application for labor<