Fall Permanent Resident Workshop

Editor's Notes

• #48: Call Anne/ ISSS as liaison to Attorney When a department enteres into a contract with our immigration attorney, they do so they are also acknolwedging the understanding that it is the department’s responsibility to account for all associated costs of the entire PR case. As to which costs they pass along to their employee/scholar is a discussion between those two parties. Neither ISSS nor the attorney are liable for those costs. With only one exception, all associated costs can be passed to scholar. Sponsorship: it is important also to remember that anytime a UCSC FOAPAL will be used in connection with a PR case of any kind - the process must come through our office and must involve the Department taking responsibility for those fees. Deadline: as soon as you start thinking about the issue of permanent employment for an international employee - call ISSS. In order to give the case the widest selection of PR Pathways - to include the PERM ALC - Between 6-12mths after a formal letter of acceptance from the scholar.
• #49: Contact Anne - ISSS as the liaison between attorney and Department Eligibility - in the rare event that an exception is needed - Anne will talk you through the process and provide you with the necessary form.
• #50: Initiating Outside Counsel - first & mandatory step is an initial consultation with all parties and Outside Counsel. ISSS will provide Dept the first of our two Outside Counsel Forms - OC01: Initiate Outside Counsel which as the name suggests is specifically designed for the first mandatory meeting with the attorney. Upon signing this form and providing a FOAPAL, you are agreeing to cover the attorney fees associated with the ICM. We did not used to make this meeting mandatory but we have found that holding this meeting saves both time and money down the road for all concerned. Refer in packets to the purpose of the Meeting - QUOTE - and a sample agenda. The other good thing to note about this meeting is that if you forget everything that we have covered today - this meeting will include a complete discussion of the PR process specific to the scholar/employee in question. In terms of attendees - at a minimum - attorney, scholar, ISSS Director or liaison, Departmental &/or Divisional Representative. Linguistics Chair example. Final Note: the main importance of these meeting is to save staff time and save money.
• #51: Imagine we are toward the end of that ICM - a pathway for PR has been selected and the decision to move forward has been made. At that time, during that meeting, ISSS will provide you with the second of our Outside Counsel Form - OC02: Continuity of Outside Counsel which as the name suggest is designed to cover the continued representation by our attorney in the preparation and filing of the specific PR pathway chosen. I quickly want to discuss the issue of fees - if you refer to the Attorney and Filing Fee overview document, I would just like to highlight some key point - 1. The FOAPAL or FOAPALs provided on this OC02 form are only to cover the attorney fee portion of the PR Pathway chosen. They do not include USCIS fees (outlined below) - you will be specifically asked to order the checks for these fees by us at the appropriate time; it also does not include further attorney work such as representation at an interview when scheduled by USCIS; RFEs (Requests for Further Evidence); or appeals. All of these costs should be taken into account at the outset - and as I mentioned in the signing of this OC02 form - you are also signing acknowledgment of responsibility for any associated costs (bear in mind that an interview may be held a few years down the PR Pathway). A quick word on the costs associated with Dependents - these costs, when applicable, are the responsibility of the scholar to cover - again these costs can be passed to their department but that discussion will be between you and your employee - neither the attorney nor ISSS are involved in that decision but those costs will need to be covered.
• #52: Before I finish and in your own time - take a look through the other documents in your binder. I haven’t talked about them specifically as they are just for your reference. One thing that I would like to call out specifically is that we have included the Department Checklist associated with Pathway 1: PERM Alien Labor Certification. This is just a sample - no cheating - but it is designed to give you some advance notice of the kinds of documentation that you will be collecting on behalf of your scholar in order for us to file. This is the most labor intensive for you as departments and so take a look. We have also included the PERM form that we file (the 13 page document Ann referenced earlier) so you can take a look at the process from the ISSS/Attorney standpoint. We have also included the USCIS form I-140: Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker - that ISSS/Attorney work on and file on behalf of UCSC and the scholar.
• #53: Before I finish and in your own time - take a look through the other documents in your binder. I haven’t talked about them specifically as they are just for your reference. One thing that I would like to call out specifically is that we have included the Department Checklist associated with Pathway 1: PERM Alien Labor Certification. This is just a sample - no cheating - but it is designed to give you some advance notice of the kinds of documentation that you will be collecting on behalf of your scholar in order for us to file. This is the most labor intensive for you as departments and so take a look. We have also included the PERM form that we file (the 13 page document Ann referenced earlier) so you can take a look at the process from the ISSS/Attorney standpoint. We have also included the USCIS form I-140: Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker - that ISSS/Attorney work on and file on behalf of UCSC and the scholar.