Backlog Projection on DOL Website
Posted Feb 24, 2006
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We noticed an announcement of sorts on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) WebSite in mid-February 2006 regarding the timeframe for clearing the labor certification backlogs at the Backlog Processing Centers (BPCs). There is now a counter in the PERM section of the DOL WebSite indicating that the backlog will be eliminated by September 30, 2007. The counter reads, "Eighteen Months to Go."
©MurthyDotCom
We note that there is no such update in the Backlog Center portion of the DOL WebSite. We also note that we have not seen any increase in the number of cases being approved by the BPCs. At the Murthy Law Firm, we continue to see a sporadic trickle of approvals from the BPCs. It is questionable, therefore, whether the "eighteen months to go" is a realistic timeframe or just an optimistic goal.
©MurthyDotCom
It would be helpful to receive some more concrete information from the DOL on the number of cases adjudicated and the number of cases still to be processed at the BPCs. It also would be helpful to have more specifics on the DOL's progress in terms of case types being processed (RIR, non-RIR, and any other classifications), states of those files being processed (We have received approvals from many states, but there are other states on which the DOL does not seem to have even started work.), and priority dates on which work is being done in the different case categories.