In general, an employer must file an application for permanent labor certification on behalf of the foreign worker. Exceptions include:

• Certain low-skill occupations are considered inappropriate for labor certification because the U.S. Department of Labor has determined that there generally are sufficient United States workers who are able, willing, qualified and available for the occupations.
• Certain occupations are pre-certified due to a lack of qualified U.S. workers:
  1. physical therapists
  2. professional nurses
  3. foreign workers with exceptional ability in the sciences or arts
• Certain foreign workers are exempted from the labor certification process, i.e., those immigrating on the basis of a family relationship, diversity immigrants, refugees and those granted asylum, even though many will be undertaking employment in the United States.
• Others immigrating on the basis of employment but who do not need a labor certification are:
  1. foreign workers with extraordinary ability in education, business and athletics
  2. outstanding professors and researchers
  3. executives and managers with multinational corporations who meet specific requirements
  4. religious clergy
  5. foreign workers who are investors in new commercial enterprises

• Qualified U.S. workers cannot be found at the time of filing the application and in the area of intended employment, who are available, willing, and able to fill the position being offered to the foreign worker; and
  
• Employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

• To determine the prevailing wage for the job being offered in a Permanent Labor Certification
• To determine the availability of U.S. workers who are able, willing, and qualified to perform the job offered to the foreign worker under the Temporary Agricultural & Non-Agricultural programs
• If no qualified U.S. worker is available, New Hampshire Employment Security assists the employer in preparing the request for foreign labor certification and in following the program procedures.

• The job being offered must be work by an employee for an employer other than oneself.
  
• An employer-employee relationship must exist. The employer must hire, fire, supervise and provide payment to employees.
  
• It must be a bona fide job opening for which the employer is ready and willing to hire an available qualified U.S. worker.
  
• The job being offered must be:
  1. located in the United States
  2. full time
  3. permanent
     
• The job must have existed before the foreign was hired, or the employer must document that there was a major change in the business that created the job after the foreign worker was hired. Exceptions to the following are possible only if the employer is able to document a business necessity for a questionable duty and/or hiring requirement.
  
• The job duties must be consistent with those defined for the job in the OES Wage Library and be those normally required for the job in the United States.
  
• The hiring requirements for the job must conform to the Department of Labor's data for usual experience and education standards common to the occupation and the industry; cannot be tailored to the qualifications of the alien; and must not include requirements for a language other than English (without written justification).

1. The labor certification application is made by the employer on behalf of the foreign worker.
   
2. Permanent Labor Certification applications are filed direct with the USDOL.
   
3. The temporary application is filed with the Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) unit in the New Hampshire Employment Security central office, Concord.
   
4. The temporary application is filed on the DOL's Form ETA 750, Parts A.

   The FLC unit will:

   • review the description of the job duties
   • evaluate the employer's stated minimum requirements for the job
   • determine the prevailing rate of pay
   • review the alien's credentials
   • give the employer a chance to amend wages and/or requirements that do not comply with labor certification regulations
   • oversee the employer's recruitment of U.S. workers, which consists of the following steps, conducted simultaneously:
     • placement of a job order in the statewide job-bank system;
     • placement of an advertisement by the employer in whichever publication is determined by the FLC unit to be most appropriate to the occupation
     • screen resumes from job applicants
     • forward apparently qualified resumes to the employer
       

• interviews the applicant
• evaluates the applicant
• files a report with the FLC unit giving the lawful, job-related reasons why each rejected applicant is not qualified for the position
• furnishes evidence of recruitment advertising to FLC unit
1. The Foreign Labor Certification unit analyzes the employer's recruitment campaign and employer's evaluation of U.S. applicants and advises the employer if any deficiencies must be corrected.
2. If the case appears complete, the FLC unit assembles the documentation created up to this point and forwards the application and documentation to the regional office of the U.S. DOL.
3. The Regional Certifying Officer determines whether to grant a labor certification, or issue a Notice of Findings (intent to deny) based on whether the employer has met the requirements of the federal regulations governing Foreign Labor Certification.