U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regional media manager Marie Therese Sebrechts said, “There are no specific requirements for advertising job vacancies in relation to filing an I-129CW for a CNMI-only Transitional Worker position.”
She said employers must complete and sign the Employer Attestation (supplemental sheet to I-129CW petition) in which they confirm that there are no qualified U.S. workers available for the position.
“USCIS does not dictate how an employer determines that there is no qualified U.S. worker available. The employer must use his or her own judgment in advertising a job so that he/she can make this attestation,” Sebrechts said.
She added that any form of advertising would be acceptable if it provided sufficient opportunity for people to hear about a job — including, but not limited to TV, radio, print, or online.
An employer can submit evidence with the I-129CW petition of how he/she decided no qualified U.S. worker was available (e.g., how, when, where, how often advertised) or should be able to explain this should USCIS ask for evidence, Sebrechts said.
As USCIS does not impose a minimum number of days or medium to post job vacancies, USCIS Honolulu District Director David Gulick said during the Rotary Club meeting last month that employers have to attest there are no qualified U.S. workers available. He said, “When employers sign the attestation, they can, in good faith, say and if necessary show us what actions they have taken and how they have determined that there is no qualified U.S. worker available for the position or the job.”
He also said in that forum that USCIS will conduct random checks from time to time to verify if the advertised jobs really existed and that no qualified U.S. workers were available for the jobs.
