With the sunsetting of Work Authorization through Temporary Protected Status (TPS) fast approaching, thousands of employees will no longer be able to legally work and remain in the United States. Several countries such as El Salvador and Honduras will no longer have TPS; and seeking new work and status options is essential.
TPS will be eliminated in 2019, leaving individuals who entered the U.S. without inspection undocumented. It is important to have a plan if you or someone you know is undocumented. The good news is that U.S. employers may petition for his or her employee in TPS status with the assistance of experienced immigration legal counsel. But first, the U.S. employer must complete a process called PERM. This is a labor certification program that is essentially a market test by the Department of Labor (DOL).
This market test is very involved and DOL guides the process and supervises as needed the U.S. employer. The attorney’s role is to work with DOL and the U.S. employer to systematically work through each stage of the process, step by step.
The types of workers that are eligible to be sponsored by a U.S. employer include the following:
- Skilled Workers
- Unskilled Workers
- Professionals
To determine which category a job falls under, consult with legal counsel. However, once the category is determined you and your lawyer will need to also complete the following steps:
- Check the Department of State (DOS) visa bulletin to see when your visa category
will be current
- Plan your PERM strategy taking into consideration status and visa expiration; along
with risk assessment;
- Discuss waivers such as I-601A required to overcome ‘entry without inspection’
status.
While the above legal process is very time intensive and complex, your U.S. immigration lawyer with careful planning can guide the U.S. employer and employee through each step providing a strong viable option once TPS status is eliminate in 2019.
Our lawyers have over 21 years practicing immigration law, and we are a full service immigration law firm. As members of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA) for over a decade, we keep abreast of fast pace new and emerging laws. This allows us to build stronger cases for our clients and determine how new laws can increase legal status options.
You may contact us at info@vasselllaw.com or visit www.vasselllaw.com to call the office nearest to you.