Minimum Degree Requirement Issues for PERM / I-140 Petitions

When drafting minimum requirements for a PERM petition it is critical to understand how USCIS and the DOL will view them from a compliance perspective.

Understanding that hiring foreign workers requires a different mindset in your approach to drafting the PERM position details is critical to success.

The main difference between hiring U.S. Workers and Foreign Workers

U.S. Workers: As an employer when you are hiring U.S. workers for a position, you are allowed to select the most qualified applicant.

Foreign Workers: When you are hiring foreign workers for a permanent (PERM / I-140) position an applicant is considered qualified if he or she meets your minimum requirements for the position.

Minimum Degree Issues – breadth of disciplines:

Example: Systems Analyst (New York, NY) Implement custom ERP solutions. Bachelor degree in Business, Engineering, or related field.

Issue:

The above minimum degree requirements cover a breadth of disciplines (Business is not related to Engineering.)

Having multiple unrelated disciplines as the minimum requirement for your position may lead to an RFE and eventually a denial of your I-140 petition.

In addition you will want to specify the Engineering majors you would accept.

(Engineering has multiple types, for example Civil, Mechanical, Aeronautical, and Computer, which have very disparate coursework.)

A solution:

Example: Systems Analyst (New York, NY) Implement custom ERP solutions. Bachelor degree in Computer Engineering, or related field.

Source: h1b now