Permanent Employment Visa

"In general any alien who seeks to enter the US for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor is inadmissible, unless the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General that: -

• There are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified and available at the time of the application for a visa and admission to the US and at the place where the alien is to perform such skilled or unskilled labor, and

• The employment of such alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the US similarly employed. "

In other words, before employers are allowed to hire persons from overseas to take up vacancies, they must first prove to the government that there are no US citizens available to take up the position. The availability of a US citizen to take up the position be must immediate - ‘ready, willing and able’ as the phrase goes.

US employers may not advertise jobs far below the prevailing wage in order to attract cheap overseas labor. Before US employers can hire anyone from overseas they must first obtain a Permanent Employment Certificate from the government.

Permanent Employment Certification is the administrative process US employers undertake to be granted permission to hire a person without a green card.