Department of Labor Issues Mea Culpa; Fragomen Off the Hot Seat

[WSJ_law_blog]

The prominent immigration firm Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy has spent the last few months fretting a Labor Department audit. Now it can breathe easy.

In what appears to be somewhat of a mea culpa, the department called off the audit yesterday, reports the WSJ, on the grounds that its own prior rulings had created confusion about the proper role of immigration attorneys in the green-card application process.

At issue were the federal rules that require a company, as a condition for sponsoring a foreign worker for a green card, to certify to the Labor Department that the company has not been able to find a “minimally qualified” U.S. worker to fill the job. Lawyers are limited from advising companies as to whether an American worker can be deemed qualified, according to Labor Department regulations. These regulations are aimed at preventing lawyers from helping clients find reasons not to hire qualified Americans. Click here, here and here for prior posts on the Fragomen audit.

Fragomen had relied on earlier rulings, by the department’s Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals, that the limits apply only to firms that represent both the employer seeking a green card and a foreign worker for whom a green card is sought. The department has clarified that going forward its regulations will apply to firms that represent only an employer.

Fragomen did not respond to a request for comment.