In an August 23, 2012 decision, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) found that an employer must include in its PERM advertisements information about travel requirements sufficient to apprise job applicants of:

For more information on PERM labor certification, see Practice Notes, PERM Labor Certification: Overview and The PERM Labor Certification Process.

On August 10, 2012, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that is has discontinued placing admission stamps on the entry documents (Forms I-20 or DS-2019) presented by international students and scholars seeking entry to the US in F, M or J nonimmigrant visa status. Instead, the admission of those nonimmigrants are recorded directly in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database.

For more information on nonimmigrant visa categories, see Key Nonimmigrant Visa Classifications Chart. For more information on entry and admission, see Practice Note, Hiring and Employing Foreign Nationals in the US: Overview: Distinguishing Between Visa and Status.

On August 6, 2012, the USCIS announced expanded hours at its national customer service center, to provide access to live agents by telephone on the following schedule in each time zone:

In its August 3, 2012 decision In re Prosoft Associates, Inc. (2011-PER-01209), BALCA determined that the employer's pre-employment requirements, including drug tests and background checks, were additional requirements that must be included in the PERM labor certification. In Prosoft, the employer described the pre-employment requirements in its advertising for the PERM position, but omitted them from the PERM application. BALCA held that the job offered to the foreign worker on the PERM application was more favorable than that offered to US workers because the foreign worker was not, according to the PERM application, required to undergo the pre-employment tests.

For more information on PERM labor certification, see Practice Notes, PERM Labor Certification: Overview and The PERM Labor Certification Process.

The Department of Justice's Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) published their decision in US v. Associated Painters, Inc. (10 OCAHO no. 11A00033 (May 30, 2012)) on July 31, 2012.

In its decision, OCAHO stressed that a finding of constructive knowledge that a worker is unauthorized:

For more information on immigration compliance resources, see Immigration Compliance Toolkit.