The dramatic slowdown in processing of labor certifications nationwide appears to be accelerating and now state agencies that administer the labor certification program are joining immigration lawyers in complaining that the US Department of Labor has failed miserably in its administrative duties.

A scathing letter recently sent from Joanne Palmieri, chief of the New York State agency charged with administering the alien labor certification program, to James Norris, Chief of the US Department of Labor's labor certification division has recently been sent. Palmieri's letter was co-signed by her counterpart in New Jersey, a state with processing backlogs of more than two and a half years. According to respected labor certification expert Sam Udani, head of Adnet, an agency that places labor certification advertisements, the letter demands more funding from the US Department of Labor. The letter reportedly contained language threatening to pull the plug on the labor certification programs in New York and New Jersey if increased funding is not found.

According to Udani, the phase-out of INA Section 245i on January 14th has led to an unprecedented number of labor certification filing. The resultant backlogs could double the current historic delays (between fiscal year 1996 and 1997, the backlog increased by 25% nationwide). Udani states he is using conservative estimates and the delays could be even worse.

Udani notes that normal procedures would have dictated that Ms. Palmieri send her letter through the chief officer of the Department of Labor's regional office in New York. The fact that she bypassed the normal procedures indicates that the situation is "near-apocalyptic."

James Norris, the Chief of the US Department of Labor region covering New York, recently discussed the decrease in funds allocated to state agencies to administer the program. Norris revealed the budgeted funds have declied from $57 million in 1993 to $31 million in 1997. Funding for 1998 will actually decline again, though only slightly. Norris admitted that the steep funding reductions have led to the resignations of experienced administrators and that the quality of production is bound to suffer.

The Office of Management and Budget recommended a fee system to be paid by employers filing labor certification applications. Many hope that this will provide much of the needed funding to get the program back on track. However, Congress did not approve this in the 1998 budget. User fees will therefore have to wait until at least the last quarter of 1998. The DOL recently retained a consulting firm to determine the precise cost of processing individual applications. The goal is to set a reliable system for determining appropriate fees.

Udani predicts that the Department of Labor will accelerate planned issuance of new regulations and is likely to switch to an attestation system whereby like the H-1B program, employers will merely attest that they have complied with recruitment regulations. The attestation program would be coupled with a strong audit provision that would contain substantial penalties for violators.