Visa Lawyer Blog
The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Office of Foreign Labor Certification, issued a Frequently Asked Questions on Permanent Labor Certifications, titled Round 12.
In that update they answer the employer point of contact questions that is often asked by employers. The answer is that the employer must designate as its point of contact an employee of the employer who is authorized to act on its behalf in labor certification matters pertaining to the specific job opportunity for which certification is sought.
The designated employee may not be the sponsored foreign worker. The employer point of contact will be contacted by the National Processing Center to verify whether the employer is authorizing the filing of the application and sponsoring the foreign worker named therein.
Therefore, an authorized employee’s name and contact information must be listed in Section D of the employer’s submitted ETA Form 9089. It is not acceptable, for example, to reenter the employer’s name listed in Section C of the ETA Form 9089 or provide a generic title such as “HR Manager.”
Moreover, as indicated on the ETA Form 9089 and accompanying instructions, such a person’s name and/or contact information, e.g., the phone number and email address, must be different from the attorney or agent name and/or contact information listed in Section E of the ETA Form 9089, unless the attorney or agent is an employee of the employer. This has been a subject of a few audits in recent years.
Employer Point of Contact Information
Question: Who may the employer designate as its point of contact in Section D of ETA Form 9089?
Answer: The employer must designate as its point of contact an employee of the employer who is authorized to act on its behalf in labor certification matters pertaining to the specific job opportunity for which certification is sought. The designated employee may not be the sponsored foreign worker. The employer point of contact will be contacted by the National Processing Center to verify whether the employer is authorizing the filing of the application and sponsoring the foreign worker named therein. Therefore, an authorized employee’s name and contact information must be listed in Section D of the employer’s submitted ETA Form 9089. It is not acceptable, for example, to reenter the employer’s name listed in Section C of the ETA Form 9089 or provide a generic title such as “HR Manager.” Moreover, as indicated on the ETA Form 9089 and accompanying instructions, such a person’s name and/or contact information, e.g., the phone number and email address, must be different from the attorney or agent name and/or contact information listed in Section E of the ETA Form 9089, unless the attorney or agent is an employee of the employer.
Question: Can the employer designate its attorney or agent as its point of contact in Section D of the ETA form 9089?
Answer: The employer can designate its attorney or agent as its point of contact in Section D in addition to Section E, Attorney or Agent Information, only when the attorney or agent is an employee of the employer. Otherwise, the point of contact must be an employee who is authorized to act on the employer’s behalf in labor certification matters and, as indicated on the ETA Form 9089 and accompanying instructions, the point of contact name and contact information, e.g., the phone number and email address, must be different from the attorney or agent name and contact information listed in Section E. The designated employee may not be the sponsored foreign worker.