The following is not legal advice. Please consult a qualified immigration lawyer for advice regarding your unique legal issue.
Many immigration firms are experiencing unbelievable delays in the time it is taking the Atlanta Processing Center to adjudicate PERM applications. After June 1, 2008, that center will be the only game in town, and unless they make some serious improvements, labor certification applications will probably take as long as they did before the PERM system came into place.
Those delays that result in eventual denials could have serious consequences for those who have been in the US in H status for several years and wish to extend their H-1B beyond the sixth year. These individuals need to show that their labor certification application has been pending for at least 365 days to extend beyond six years.
The lesson: File PERM applications early to allow for errors and delays that are inevitable with the current labor certification system.
