Eb2 category with minimum PWD

[elumalai81]

I have Masters Degree in US and work experience of close to 6 years (2 years experience with company A with 1 year of OPT and 4 years with my current company B.)

My current company B is applying my Green Card with masters degree and 2 years of experience from Company A, since the current company experience is not counted)

I currently work as Quality Engineer (Medical Device Company-similar to industrial engineer). I have been working with this company B for last 4 years. So I am in my beginning of 6^th year of H1-B. My H1-B expires in March 2013.

After a long period our company lawyer finalized my job description and applied my PWD in Oct 2011 and my got response for PWD as 30 K higher than my current salary.

My current salary is 85K which is well above the market salary. PWD was approved for Industrial Engineer (close match to my job roles) with level 4 category. Now for level 4 industrial engineer the minimum wage is 115K for my county in California.

Since my salary is 85 K, my lawyer is proposing to go to submit my application in Eb3 with lower level.

I totally disagree in applying under Eb3 because of the backlog in green card process.

Although I have master’s degree and my current salary is within the market wage, I don’t know how DOL is categorizing my case under level 4 and set the minimum wage higher.

There should be some way of explanation to bring my case to level 2 with Eb2 category, but my lawyer says if we go to lower level it will be categorized as Eb3. I need help in know whether this is true?

Experience members and Attorneys please help me how I can proceed to submit my application in Eb2 category which I am qualified with level 2 wage.

[JoeF]

After a long period our company lawyer finalized my job description and applied my PWD in Oct 2011 and my got response for PWD as 30 K higher than my current salary.

My current salary is 85K which is well above the market salary.

Well, obviously not. Otherwise, the prevailing wage would be lower.

The prevailing wage is based on the wages reported by employers in the area.

I totally disagree in applying under Eb3 because of the backlog in green card process.

Then your employer should pay you the prevailing wage for the EB2 position.

Although I have master’s degree and my current salary is within the market wage

Again, why do you think your salary is within the market wage?

The PWD says otherwise, and it is based on data, whereas your claim is only based on your wishful thinking.

[Attorney_14]

The EB category is based on the minimum requirements needed for the position in which you are being sponsored. So you do want to see if your employer has a position available in which they wish to sponsor you that requires a higher level of education and/or experience. If the position is an EB2 position, and you qualify for the position, then an EB2 case can be filed on your behalf. It is true that, in general, an EB2 position can require a higher prevailing wage (PW), but that really depends on what the requirements for the position are. Therefore, not all EB2 positions require a much higher salary. That being said, your employer still needs to be able to pay you the PW and ultimately do so when you are hired into the position, at the latest, upon receiving your Green Card.

In order to obtain case-specific advice, I recommend that you contact a knowledgeable immigration attorney in regard to your case.

The Murthy Law Firm has a very well-regarded Greencard Department with extensive successful experience who would be able to provide you with excellent assistance. Please feel free to call our office to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys.

[elumalai81]

Thanks JoeF and Attorney...

I totally agree with your comments..

Now i have this question where my attorney is not providing answer..

when a PWD is requested, how is it received. do they specifically say you have to go with the level and position they mention..

Because my lawyer mentioned that the PWD is received for Industrial Engineer (with level 4) which generally have management and/or supervisory responsibilities. In my case i dont have that responsibility. I think my categorizatio should come under level 2, where my current wage is met.

Please answer this question, when applying perm, is that the lawyer who selects the position and level of grade? If so I dont know why my lawyer is sticking with level 4 (highest level per DOL)

your help is appreciated.

[Scorpio811]

Hi All,

I have a different but related question. Is it possible for anybody to request a PWD? Or only an attorney can seek a PWD on my behalf? The reason I am asking is that I am switching companies soon & I would like to keep atleast some of the papers ready in order to save time.

Thanks,

[Scorpio811]

Hi All,

Is the prevailing wages from the "Foreign Labor certification Data Center" valid for PWD?

I was doing some research on this & Is this the website to determine the data?

http://www.flcdatacenter.com/

Can someone verify this information?

Thanks

[h1pagalpanti]

You can look up online for the application to see how it looks like...your attorney just makes a suggested level and PW but the DOL guyz make the final decision...I am not sure how they come to a decision...could be based on the job description and responsibilities mentioned by your attorney in the application...but sometimes they are not accurate. In that situation you can probably ask your HR if they have a job survey results if they have any and let your attorney know about that and he/she could use that or submit that. Finally, it is better to do a re-determination nd wait now for another couple of months rather than waiting before filing your 485. Thats just my 2 cents.

[dream16]

very interesting insights and questions here