General policyPOLICY UPDATE
Labor Certification-Based Immigrant Petitions for Professional Athletes
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) adoption of the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system and its impact on certain immigrant visa petitions filed on behalf of professional athletes.
Effective date and application
This guidance, contained in Volume 6 of the Policy Manual, is effective immediately
Key changes
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) adoption of the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system and its impact on certain immigrant visa petitions filed on behalf of professional athletes.
- Provides an overview of the DOL FLAG system and describes the new labor certification- related documentation that must be submitted with the Form I-140.
- Explains that labor certifications for professional athletes that were filed using the FLAG system no longer contain the minimum job requirements for the offered position.
- Clarifies that if an immigrant petition for a professional athlete contains a labor certification obtained through the FLAG system, USCIS may issue a request for evidence to obtain the minimum job requirements if that information is not contained in the supporting documentation submitted with the Form I-140.
