Certification Process for Temporary Employment of Aliens in the United States

The Department of Labor must certify that there are no domestic farmworkers available in the United States before the Immigration and Naturalization Service will permit foreign workers to enter the country temporarily. Regulations were issued effective April 10, 1978, to define more clearly the respective roles of the Department of Labor, State Employment Service agencies, and employers in the certification process. The practicality of the revised regulations cannot be assessed until the parties involved have had a chance to work under them. The primary function of the Employment Service is to provide employers with workers and workers with jobs. Growers felt that the Employment Service did not provide a sufficient number of qualified workers and that many of the workers who were referred did not last through the harvest season. The growers also believed that there is generally an insufficient number of domestic workers available. Labor's regulations require that a nationwide labor search be conducted before the entrance of temporary alien workers into the United States is permitted. However, regulations for the certification of aliens seeking permanent employment require only that a local labor market search be conducted. The difference in the search requirements reflects the language of the Immigration and Nationality Act.