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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Immigration of Foreign Workers: Labor Market Tests and Protections

Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy

December 20, 2010
http://opencrs.com/document/RL33977/2010-12-20/download/1005/

[full-text, 34 pages]

Summary

Economic indicators confirm that the U.S. economy sunk into a recession in December 2007.

Although some economic indicators suggest that growth has resumed, unemployment remains

high and is projected to remain so for some time. Historically, international migration ebbs during

economic crises; for example, immigration to the United States was at its lowest levels during the

Great Depression. While preliminary statistical trends hint at a slowing of migration pressures, it

remains unclear how the economic recession of the past two years has affected immigration.

Addressing these contentious policy reforms against the backdrop of economic crisis sharpens the

social and business cleavages and narrows the range of options.

Some employers maintain that they continue to need the “best and the brightest” workers,

regardless of their country of birth, to remain competitive in a worldwide market and to keep their

firms in the United States. While support for increasing employment-based immigration may be

dampened by the high levels of unemployment, proponents argue that the ability to hire foreign

workers is an essential ingredient for economic growth.

Those opposing increases in foreign workers assert that such expansions—particularly during a

period of high unemployment—would have a deleterious effect on salaries, compensation, and

working conditions of U.S. workers. Others question whether the United States should continue

to issue foreign worker visas (particularly temporary visas) during a period of high

unemployment and suggest that a moratorium on such visas might be prudent.

The number of foreign workers entering the United States legally has notably increased over the

past decade. The number of employment-based legal permanent residents (LPRs) grew from

under 100,000 in FY1994 to over 250,000 in FY2005, and dipped to 126,874 in 2009. The

number of visas issued to employment-based temporary nonimmigrants rose from just under

600,000 in FY1994 to approximately 1.3 million in FY2007. In FY2009, the number of visas

issued to employment-based temporary nonimmigrants dropped slightly to 1.1 million.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bars the admission of any alien who seeks to enter

the U.S. to perform skilled or unskilled labor, unless it is determined that (1) there are not

sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available; and (2) the employment of

the alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed

workers in the United States. The foreign labor certification program in the U.S. Department of

Labor (DOL) is responsible for ensuring that foreign workers do not displace or adversely affect

working conditions of U.S. workers.

The 111th Congress has addressed one element of the labor market test for foreign workers issue

in §1611 of P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which requires

companies receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding to comply with the more

rigorous labor market rules of H-1B dependent companies if they hire foreign workers on H-1B

visas. Also, §524 of division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117)

authorized the Department of Labor to use its share of the H-1B, H-2B, and L Fraud Prevention

and Detection fees to conduct wage and hour enforcement of industries more likely to employ

any type of nonimmigrants (not just H-1B, H-2B or L visaholders). Finally, P.L. 111-230 (H.R.

6080) authorized additional fees on firms who have more than 50% of their employees on H-1B

or L visas.

This report does not track legislation and will be updated if policies are revised.

Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1

Key Elements.......................................................................................................................1

Brief History of Labor Certification ......................................................................................2

Permanent Employment-Based Admissions.................................................................................3

LPR Labor Certification Process ...........................................................................................5

Program Electronic Review Management (PERM)................................................................6

Temporary Employment-Based Admissions ................................................................................8

Overview.............................................................................................................................8

Temporary Workers.........................................................................................................8

Multinational Executive and Specialist Employees and International Investors ................8

Cultural Exchange...........................................................................................................9

Outstanding and Extraordinary........................................................................................9

Religious Workers...........................................................................................................9

Trends in Temporary Employment-Based Visas...................................................................10

Labor Market Tests for Workers on H Visas.........................................................................12

H-1B Visas and Labor Attestations ................................................................................12

H-2A Visas and Labor Certification...............................................................................14

Required Benefits for H-2A Workers...................................................................................15

H-2B Visas and Labor Certifications .............................................................................15

Investigating and Enforcing LCAs ............................................................................................17

Resources for Foreign Labor Certification.................................................................................19

Funding the LCA Approval Process.....................................................................................19

Funding the LCA Enforcement Activities ............................................................................21

Additional Fees on Firms with Majority H-1B and L Workers ...................................................23

Selected Issues for the 112th Congress .......................................................................................24

Unemployment Statistics and Other Economic Triggers ......................................................24

Global Competition for Talent .............................................................................................25

Certification Versus Attestation ...........................................................................................26

Protections for U.S. Workers ...............................................................................................26

Fraudulent Claims...............................................................................................................27

Enforcement Tool................................................................................................................28

Small Business Concerns ....................................................................................................28

Subcontractors and Multinational Companies ......................................................................28

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................29

Figures

Figure 1. Permanent Employment-based Admissions for First, Second, and Third

Preferences, 1994-2009............................................................................................................4

Figure 2. Temporary Employment-based Visas Issued, 1994-2009.............................................10

Figure 3. Temporary Admissions for Selected Employment-based Visas.................................... 11

Figure 4. Funding to ETA for Foreign Labor Certification .........................................................20

Tables

Table 1. Summary of Foreign Temporary Worker Labor Market Tests and Protections ...............17

Table 2. Amounts from the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fees Allocated to DOL,

FY2005-FY2009....................................................................................................................22

Contacts

Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................30

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
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E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
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