Prevailing wage request confusion with DOL/SWA

[gprx100]

My lawyer initiated the PERM process late last year, the timeline was such that the prevailing wage request was filed with State Workforce Agency (SWA) on 12-30-2009. The SWA prevailing wage determination was received back by my lawyer on the 1/11/10.

Subsequently the recruitment process started and everything was going smooth. The PERM was supposed to be filed in the first week of April. My lawyer now is saying that they need to push the application filing because of the new rule which came into effect Jan 1st which requires all prevailing wage requests to be filed with the DOL. The rule states that:

On January 1, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) changed the way that prevailing wage determinations (PWDs) are processed for the PERM, H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore), E-3 (Australia), and H-2B programs. PWDs are now issued by DOL’s National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk Center (NPWHC) in Washington, DC. Below are updated Frequently Asked Questions about the new process.

From my understanding the new law should not be applicable to me, since we filed for the PWD on 12/30/09. I am not sure why we need to reinitiate the process, since the new law is _effective_ as of 01/01/2010.

Is anyone in a similar situation or anyone has any advice?

[roseball]

If the new PWD guidelines were effective 01/01/10, then it shouldn't effect your PWD since it was filed on 12/30/09. You should try and find some document or FAQs to prove the same and send them to your lawyer. My guess is he might have messed up something in your process and is trying to cover it up with this story. Its better to have him re-start the process in that case because if he infact messed up something and he files your PERM, it could be potentially denied which will directly impact you...Try to find out if what he is saying is infact true (which I doubt), or if he is just mistaken..