PERMANENT RESIDENCE PROCESS
FOR TEACHING POSITIONS
Revised November 2014
"Permanent residence" is a status granted by the U.S. government to citizens of other countries. It allows
an individual to remain permanently in the U.S. The process is also known as obtaining a "green card" or
"immigrant status." Permanent residence is not the same as U.S. citizenship, although permanent residents
may become eligible to become "naturalized" U.S. citizens after a certain number of years as a permanent
resident.
Labor Certification is the first step in obtaining permanent resident status for teaching faculty, which is a
three step process that involves two and occasionally three U.S. government agencies. First, the
Department of Labor (DOL) examines the application for Labor Certification to ensure that the U.S. work
force is protected. Then, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) evaluates the applicant’s
qualifications for the specific preference category for which the University is applying. Finally, the foreign
scholar must apply for immigrant status, either with the USCIS, or at a U.S. Consulate overseas.
The purpose of the Labor Certification process for teaching faculty is to ensure that qualified U.S. workers
have been given the opportunity to apply for the position, that the individual hired is more qualified than
all of the U.S. workers who applied, and that the wage being offered meets the prevailing wage for the
particular occupation. It is essential that the foreign scholar have all of the minimum requirements as
stated in the advertisement and on the Labor Certification application prior to being offered the position.
Prior experience in the same or a similar position at UW-Stout cannot count toward meeting the minimum
requirements. Prior experience with the same employer is only acceptable if the positions are clearly
different.
The recruitment standards for university and college teaching faculty are less stringent than those for other
types of positions. However, in order to qualify for this “special handling”, the position must involve some
actual classroom teaching, there must have been at least one advertisement in a national professional
journal, and the Labor Certification must be filed within 18 months of the applicant having been selected.
As of August 31, 2011, universities may choose between using a print ad or an electronic ad in a college or
university teacher recruitment that will ultimately support an application for permanent residency (see
recruitment standards for specific instructions). DOL starts counting the 18 months from the date of the
initial offer letter, not the beginning date of employment (if changes were made after the initial offer, we
still must use the date of the first offer). Therefore it is imperative to file the application within 18 months
of the date the position was offered to the candidate; otherwise, a completely new, full-scale, search must
be conducted before the University can file for Labor Certification.
An application for Labor Certification consists of Form ETA- 9089 submitted electronically by the Human
Resources Office. Extensive documentation of the recruitment process, detailed below, must be gathered
and retained for five years from the date of filing the ETA-9089. The date on which the application is filed
with the DOL establishes a “priority date” for the foreign scholar, which may be important later in
determining how long the final step of the permanent residence process will take.
Processing an application for Labor Certification by the DOL is supposed to take 45-60 days, unless the
application is selected for audit, although recently they have been taking several months even without an
audit. Applications may be selected for random audit, or they may be audited if DOL feels the job
requirements are too restrictive, if there is a combination of occupations or for other unspecified reasons.
Obtaining permanent resident status from submission of the application for Labor Certification to approval
of the adjustment of status petition currently takes at least one to two years. Processing times vary
considerably and can change dramatically in a short time.
UW-STOUT PROCESS AND PROCEDURES
If the employing department has already recruited extensively for the position, including following the
recruitment standards, and the candidate was selected within eighteen months of the expected filing of the
Labor Certification application, the University can proceed with the application. Below identifies a series of
steps that now must occur:
1. A Prevailing Wage Request will be submitted by the Human Resources Office online to the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) for approval (Approval response will take at least 4-6 weeks). The
University must pay the international faculty or staff member the prevailing wage or the actual
wage, whichever is higher.
2. Intent to File Posting. The employer must give notice of its intent to file the ETA-9089 application
(#4 below) and be able to document that the notice was provided. The department must post the
position vacancy announcement and an accompanying statement in two locations (Human
Resources and the department) for 10 consecutive business days. After the notice is removed,
there is a certifying letter from the department chair must be sent to the Human Resources Office
stating that the posting has been completed and retained in the file. The posting will need to occur
between 30 and 180 days prior to filing the ETA-9089 Form. The ETA-9089 Form cannot be filed less
than 30 days after the end of the posting. The Human Resources Office will send an email to the
Department Chair and/or immediate supervisor with further information and attachments for the
posting.
3. Recruitment Documentation. Extensive documentation of the recruitment process is detailed
below and must be retained for five years from the date of filing the ETA-9089. The Human
Resources Office will request the following information from the department:
a. A signed statement from the Chair outlining in detail the complete recruitment procedures
undertaken, including the total number of applicants and the specific, lawful, job-related
reasons why each U.S. resident or citizen who applied for the position was not as qualified
as the beneficiary, based on the advertised education and experience requirements
(incomplete file is not acceptable). This should be in the form of a list as an addendum,
identifying each applicant by name, and the reason(s) for rejection. Although resumes are
not submitted to the Department of Labor (DOL), it is important to retain them in case DOL
specifically requests them (See Sample Recruitment Summary Letter).
b. A final report of the body making the recommendation of selection of the beneficiary (the
search committee) after the completion of the process.
c. A copy of at least one advertisement in a national professional journal indicating that the
advertisement was posted for a minimum of 30 days. The START AND END DATES of the
electronic advertisement must be documented. The gold standard of evidence for this
requirement would be computer printouts of the advertisement from a web browser
showing the URL and the date. Those printouts would ideally be made on both the day the
ad was posted and the day the ad was taken down. There may be other types of acceptable
evidence if this is infeasible. For print ads, tear sheets are still the preferred method of
proof (see recruitment standards for specific instructions). Curriculum Vita (CV) and
application materials of all applicants, including the beneficiary. Note: Human Resources
only needs application materials from the beneficiary, not all of the other applicants. The
department must retain all other applications for five years.
d. Evidence of all other recruitment sources used such as letters to other universities, postings
at conferences, electronic web postings, emails etc. Attach evidence, such as copies of
letters, conference job listings, etc.
e. Complete paper and electronic postings and statements regarding postings.
f. A written statement attesting to the degree of the beneficiary’s educational or professional
qualifications and academic achievements. This should consist of a letter from the Chair,
supported by the CV and a copy of all pertinent degree(s), certificates or licenses (if
applicable), with translations of all documents that are not in English, including those that
are in Latin. If the diploma does not indicate the field in which the degree was granted, or if
the field is not obviously relevant to the position the scholar will be filling, a set of
transcripts should also be included, with a translation as necessary.
4. Filing of the Labor Certification (Form ETA-9089). This form is filed electronically by Human
Resources and the beneficiary and must be filed within 18 months of the date the position was
offered to the beneficiary (date of initial offer letter). Once submitted, the Labor Certification
takes several months before decision is reached. All documentation referred to above must be
received before the ETA-9089 can be submitted.
5. Filing of Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140). This form is used to petition U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for an immigrant visa based on employment. Within
180 days from ETA-9089 being certified, the I-140 must be filed. Failure to file within the deadline
will result in automatic cancellation of the Labor Certification. Human Resources and the
beneficiary will complete the Form I-140 and supporting documents. Human Resources will request
the following supporting documents from the department:
o a copy of the initial offer letter, and any subsequent revisions
o a copy of the beneficiary’s CV
o a copy of the diploma(s), and a transcript if the field of study is not on the diploma
o a copy of the first page of all of the beneficiary’s publications
o a copy of all recommendation letters received during the search process
o evidence of the University’s existence and ability to pay the prevailing wage or offered wage
In addition to the above documentation there is a $580 filing fee that must be sent with the form.
Once the Form I-140 is submitted, a decision is generally made within four months.
6. Filing the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485). This is the
beneficiary’s personal application to the U.S. government for permanent residence. This final
petition concerns their personal history, such as health, finances, places of residence, family,
political and criminal background. The Human Resources Office can only provide general
information and assistance on this application. Please see the Adjustment of Status to Permanent
Residence document that is on the UW-Madison, Office of International Faculty and Staff Services
website for additional information.