March 9, 2005

Transfer of Labor Certification Applications to Backlog Reduction Centers

Of the 300,000 labor certification cases pending nationwide, approximately 180,000 have been shipped to the Backlog Reduction Centers (BRC). Approximately 86,000 have been input into the new system and only about 40,000 45 day (Continuation) letters have gone out.

As of end of February 2005, only 300 applications had been withdrawn. BRC?s now expect to work through the end of the summer of 2005 doing data entry and issuing BRC letters. Though they have started training officers on processing applications, it is highly unlikely that we will see any movement for some more months to come. The DOL has now changed its outlook of processing all BRC cases in 2 years to between 24-30 months.

Analysis: We do not expect to see any actual processing of applications until well into the data entry process. We do not expect that to occur until the summer. Though everyone is anxious to see movement on their filings, it is unlikely to happen for another 2-3 months. Accordingly, applicants should not expect accurate updates until after the summer.

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