Foreign nationals who would want their employers to be able to sponsor them for their green card application in the United States would first have to be able to get a labor certification from the Department of Labor or DOL.

This would be the first thing that you have to accomplish when you are going to start processing for your green card application. Securing a labor certification will be able to help you get a good job in case you are in the market for a new employment. Applying for labor certification is open to all workers in the United States – both to US citizens as well as green card holders.

An alien residing in the United States and seeking labor certification may only become eligible for certification once he or she has already acquired a permanent residence in the United States. Being an H-1 however, is a completely different job altogether. Being an H-1 makes it possible for you to work for two different employers at the same time.

Let’s be realistic, the chances of finding an employer who is willing to file for someone’s green card is already slim to none when you are not already employed in that company. Labor certification is usually processed by the employer and not the alien beneficiary so it is important for you to keep a good record in your current job in order to become eligible for a labor certification.

The whole labor certification process is very lengthy and it may even take from a few months up to a few years depending on the jurisdiction of the DOL wherein the job for which the labor certification is being filed for an immigrant worker – whose U.S. employers have decided to petition for labor certification after only the immigrant worker has been quite unsuccessful with his attempt to acquire a labor certification.

During this process, the employer who chose to sponsor his immigrant employee for a labor certification will have to file for an application at the U.S. Department of Labor wherein he or she will state that it is not possible for him or her to find a qualified U.S. worker to fill in for the position of his immigrant employee.

Now that the foreign worker is now being sponsored for permanent residency in the United States by his employer, it’ll be on sole basis of possessing excellent qualifications in order to fill in the job position. In order for the application to get approved by the Labor department, the employer will be asked to undergo a recruitment process in order to prove that there are no other eligible U.S. workers who are available to fill in the position.

This will prove to the Department of Labor that the alien worker is not a threat to U.S. workers it just happens that no U.S. workers are available, qualified, able, or willing to fill in the vacant position. The Department of Labor strongly looks after the interest of U.S. workers therefore ensuring that their best interest is always taken under consideration. If the alien worker is not a threat to nor can adversely affect the wages as well as working conditions of U.S workers who are employed in a similar field.

For the application of the labor certificate to be approved, the wage being offered to the alien worker must be able to meet the prevailing wage standards set by the United States Department of Labor. Advertising their wage offers is not something that employers are keen on doing but a good option for them is to just a post of the wage range in the post being offered to the alien worker.
The wage being offered should not fall lower that the prevailing 5% standard wage for that kind of job title. The employers may also want to add the possible bonuses or commissions that their prospective employee may be able to receive once they got accepted in the company.

The minimum requirements for a job opportunity must be carefully analyzed so that they should remain consistent with the standards that have been set by the Department of Labor when it comes to job duties as well as requirements. When an employer is not willing or able to offer the prevailing wage being set by the United States Department of Labor, this will have a negative effect on the labor certification application for the alien worker.