The Labor Department’s iCERT portal is experiencing a system outage due to unprecedented user demand starting Jan. 1. The agency has not indicated how long the outage will last, but said it would provide an update Thursday.

Key points:

  • Employers should anticipate delays in labor condition applications, prevailing wage requests and H-2 temporary labor certifications, which will not be able to be filed or accessed during the outage.
  • The PERM labor certification system remains operational.
  • The Labor Department will provide at least 24 hours’ notice before the iCERT portal is reopened.

Background: The outage began Jan. 1, the first day of the semiannual filing period for H-2B temporary labor certifications, caused by a spike in demand for H-2B certifications. The Labor Department announced that it is working to have the system ready within a few days to accept a record number of H-2B applications.

BAL Analysis: Employers should anticipate delays as the agency works to reopen the system. The inability to file labor condition applications (LCAs) affects employers filing H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 nonimmigrant petitions for which the LCA is a prerequisite, and the inability to file prevailing wage requests affects PERM labor certification cases in which a prevailing wage determination is required.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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