LPR Basic Labor Certification

At UT, the Labor Certification filing option is available to faculty and researchers who may not be eligible for the "outstanding professor or researcher" category.

The process involving labor certification has three steps:

Step 1

UT Obtains a Labor Certification (“PERM”) 

UT must first obtain a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”). In order to obtain labor certification, the employer (The University of Texas at Austin) must demonstrate that it undertook a proper test of the job market. In practice, this aspect of the filing strategy can be the most cumbersome, lengthy and sometimes unpredictable aspect of the permanent residence process. While the regulations are different for university teachers who apply pursuant to PERM Special Handling, under regular PERM labor certification, an employer must follow tight recruitment requirements and be able to establish that no U.S. workers meeting the minimum requirements for the position applied; the DOL will approve (or certify) the labor certification application and corresponding required recruitment efforts, along with a prevailing wage determination and specific notices that must be timely posted.

Step 2

UT Submits the Immigrant Petition

UT submits the immigrant petition (form I-140) to the immigration service.

Step 3

The Employee Applies for U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Status

Once the immigrant petition is approved, if the visa is immediately available (no backlog for country/category), the employee then applies for U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident status, typically by filing an adjustment of status application with the immigration service. It may be possible to file the adjustment application with the immigrant petition, known as "concurrent filing," so long as visa numbers in the priority category are current. This concurrent filing option carries certain risks and benefits and should be discussed with a scholar advisor.