Chicago Immigration Lawyer Blog
The Chicago immigration lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer file many employment-based applications and petitions, including PERM. We are very experienced in this area and study appellate decisions and regulations closely to ensure that all issues are properly resolved. For the PERM labor certification, employers are required to advertise job openings. Per the guidelines in 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e)(1)(i)(B)(1), this advertising should occur on two separate Sundays in the largest newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment. This ensures the job is highly visible to U.S. workers. The job’s location, termed ‘Area of Intended Employment’, is the usual commute distance from the workplace. If the job is within a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or a Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), it is automatically considered within commuting distance. However, jobs outside these areas can still fall within a commuting distance. Importantly, there’s an exception for rural areas. If a rural area lacks a Sunday newspaper edition, 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e)(1)(i)(B)(2) allows employers to advertise in the most popular edition, eliminating the need for a Sunday advertisement.
If the Area of Intended Employment does not have a Sunday newspaper, the employer cannot use the Rural Area Exception, unless the area is in fact rural. If it is not, then the employer must use the largest newspaper of general circulation with a Sunday edition that serves the area.
For example, in one case an employer sought a Permanent Employment Certification for the position of “System Performance Program Manager.” The Certifying Officer (CO) had denied the application since the newspaper the employer used for job advertising had limited circulation and no Sunday edition The employer countered by stating there was no newspaper with a Sunday edition in the area of intended employment, and they used the Rochester Post Bulletin which had the most extensive circulation in the area.The CO still held that the job was noy in a rural area, which means the employer had to meet the usual Sunday edition requirement.