Pennsylvania Labor Certification Activity to be Transferred to Harrisburg

H-1B Prevailing Wage Determination Request Forms and Applications for Alien Employment Certification will be sent to a new processing unit in the near future. Pennsylvania is planning to transition all Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) activity from the Philadelphia FLC Processing Unit to the Harrisburg FLC Processing Unit. The anticipated transition date is April 15, 2004. Employers, attorneys and related associations should continue to submit their H-1B Prevailing Wage Determination Request Forms and Applications for Alien Employment Certification, to the Philadelphia FLC Processing Unit until the anticipated transition date.

As of April 15, 2004, all applications, for counties within what is presently the Philadelphia FLC Processing Unit's jurisdictional area, should be submitted to the Harrisburg FLC Processing Unit for processing. Staff, who were temporarily assigned to the Pennsylvania project last summer that resulted in the elimination of most of the 3,000 case Philadelphia backlog, will be available to assist staff in the Harrisburg Unit to facilitate the transition.

Reduction-in-Recruitment (RIR) applications generally are processed quicker than a regular permanent application, so we encourage the submission of RIR applications whenever possible. Employers are also encouraged to recruit workers by entering their job orders directly into the PA Careerlink on-line system by using the PA CareerLink web site www.PACareerLink.state.pa.us.

Beginning on April 15, 2004, FLC applications for jobs located in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties should be submitted to the Harrisburg Processing Unit. The Pittsburgh Unit will still be responsible for processing cases from Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Warren, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

As of April 15, 2004, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will have two Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) Processing Units:

Harrisburg Processing Unit
Harvey Bear, Coordinator
Foreign Labor Certification
13th Floor West, L&I Bldg
7th and Forster Streets
Harrisburg, PA 17121
Phone: (717) 787-4781
FAX: (717) 705-5394
E-mail: hbear@state.pa.us

Pittsburgh Processing Unit
Marlene Maiese, Coordinator
BECS Western Regional Office
300 Liberty Ave, Rm 1307
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1210
Phone: (412) 565-5353
FAX: (412) 565-5752
E-mail: mmaiese@state.pa.us