Office of Foreign Labor Certification
| Office of Foreign Labor Certification | |
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| Official website: | Office of Foreign Labor Certification |
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) is a division of the Employment & Training Administration within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), a United States executive department responsible for promoting the welfare of workers, job seekers, and retirees.[1][2]
Specifically, the OFLC helps the secretary of labor carry out part of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), which requires that certain labor conditions exist before employers may hire foreign workers.
Work
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Mission
According to its official website, the OFLC mission is to provide:
| “ | [N]ational leadership and policy guidance to carry out the responsibilities of the Secretary of Labor under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, concerning the admission of foreign workers to the United States for employment.[3] | ” |
| —Office of Foreign Labor Certification[4] | ||
Duties
The OFLC carries out certain parts of United States immigration law. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), "[a]ny alien who seeks to enter the United States for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor is inadmissible" unless the secretary of labor certifies that two conditions are met:[5]
1) The secretary must certify that there are not sufficient workers willing, able, qualified, and available at the time the visa application is submitted.
2) The secretary must certify that the employment of that alien "will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed."
The OFLC investigates whether labor conditions meet those standards before the secretary may certify that those conditions of the INA are fulfilled. Then, an alien may proceed with the immigration or temporary work visa process.[6]
| “ | An approved labor certification or labor condition application is often the first step in the process for many of the employment-based visa programs, both temporary and permanent, that enable employers to hire foreign workers where workforce needs cannot be fulfilled through the U.S. workforce.[3] | ” |
| —Office of Foreign Labor Certification[6] | ||
According to the OFLC, when the agency makes these evaluations the "accessibility of jobs for U.S. workers is balanced against the business needs of U.S. companies seeking the best talent possible worldwide."[6]
OFLC published the following graphic to illustrate the labor certification process:
Statistics
The OFLC publishes reports detailing several operational facts:[7][8]
- In 2015, there were 87,644 total electronic applications for labor certification.
- The OFLC granted 78,938 total certifications in 2015.
- In 2015, the OFLC approved around 90 percent of applications.
- 58 percent of applications were from computer and mathematical occupations in 2015.
- The top five states for applications in 2015 were California, Texas, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois.
- 78 percent of the applications were related to H1-B visas, which apply to those seeking jobs that typically require bachelor's degrees or higher in a related field of study.[9]
- The top five countries of citizenship for applicants in 2015 were India, China, South Korea, Canada, and the Philippines.
- The top five employers seeking labor certifications in 2015 were Microsoft Corporation, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Google Inc., Intel Corporation, and Yahoo! Inc.
Organization
The OFLC performs its duties in National Processing Centers (NPCs) around the country. In Atlanta, the OFLC reviews employer applications for permanent labor certifications, and at the Chicago NPC, the OFLC handles temporary labor certifications. The National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk Center is responsible for reviewing prevailing wage requests.[4]
Employment
The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government is a website that tracks workforce trends in federal agencies. According to its 2015 analysis, the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor—under which the Office of Foreign Labor Certification operates—ranked number 245 out of 320 federal sub-agencies. The metrics used in this ranking included leadership, pay, innovation, and support for diversity.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Office of Foreign Labor Certification'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Department of Labor, "Our Mission," accessed June 12, 2016
- ↑ Office of Foreign Labor Certification, "Home," accessed June 12, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Office of Foreign Labor Certification, "Purpose and Authority," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, "INA: ACT 212," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Office of Foreign Labor Certification, "Annual Report 2014," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Office of Foreign Labor Certification, "Permanent Labor Certification Program — Select Statistics, FY 2015," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ Office of Foreign Labor Certification, "National Prevailing Wage Center — Select Statistics, FY 2015," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Entrepreneur Visa Guide," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government, "Agency Report: Employment and Training Administration (DOL)," accessed June 13, 2016
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