January 24 - The Department of Labor (DOL) released the statistics for its Permanent Labor Certification Program for the first quarter of FY 2012. Under this program, also commonly referred to as the PERM process, an employer seeking to hire an alien worker submits an application for foreign labor certification to the DOL.  The PERM process is intended to test the labor market and determine the availability of qualified U.S. workers who would accept the job position offered by the employer.

The DOL has already processed 12,400 PERM during the quarter period between October 2011 and December 2011. Of these applications, 9500 were certified, 2400 were denied, and 500 were withdrawn.  Currently, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification under the DOL is processing approximately 20,900 active PERM cases.