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DOL's New Changes to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System & Prevailing Wage

July 1, 2022

As of July 1, 2022, the Department of Labor has implemented major changes to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, along with the corresponding Prevailing Wage changes. The SOC update started in 2018, but it took until 2022 to gather all of the occupational and wage data necessary to implement all of the updates and changes.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, out of the 867 occupational categories in the 2018 SOC, the following changes occurred:

391 occupational categories remained unchanged from the 2010 SOC
355 occupational categories had a definition change
131 occupational categories had a title change
115 occupational categories had a code change

These changes are summarized in the 2018 SOC User Guide section, “What’s new in the 2018 SOC”:

(https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/soc_2018_whats_new.pdf)

Some of the most significant changes include the following occupational categories:

The 2010 SOC occupational categories of Software Developers, Applications and Software Developers, Systems Software, have been combined into a single 2018 SOC Software Developers occupation.
The 2010 O*NET extension occupational categories of Accountants and Auditors have been eliminated.
The 2010 SOC occupation of Financial Analysts was divided into two 2018 SOC occupational categories: Financial and Investment Analysts and Financial Risk Specialists (13-2054).
The 2018 SOC created multiple new occupational categories that were previously-coded under Physicians and Surgeons, All Other. The 2010 SOC code for Physicians and Surgeons, All Other has been divided into two separate 2018 SOC occupational categories: Physicians and Surgeons.

Some of the new 2018 SOC occupational categories of note include:

Facilities Manager
Project Management Specialists
Financial Risk Specialists
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Database Architects
Web and Digital Interface Designers
Data Scientists
Pediatric Surgeons
Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars
Surgical Assistants

Everyone must use the 2018 SOC occupational categories and Prevailing Wages as of July 1, 2022. All Prevailing Wage Determinations issued on or after July 1, 2022 will be issued with the 2018 code, regardless of the date of submission.

For more info on green cards and everything you need to know about the process to obtain them, make sure to view our Green Card General Information page, Green Card Process Overview page, and PERM Labor Certification News Flash page.

Please contact us here at Savitz Law Offices with any questions or for assistance.

Green Card Priority Dates Changes and Additional Green Card Applications Available in 2020

November 23, 2020

Due to the Green Card quotas not being reached this past fiscal year (October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020), the Priority Dates for some Employment-Based Green Card categories advanced significantly in the Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year, which started on October 1, 2020. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also announced that they are accepting Adjustment of Status (Green Card) applications based on the "Dates For Filing" chart, which enables many applicants with backlogged Priority Dates to submit Green Card applications. Moreover, applicants’ spouses and children under the age of 21 may also submit Green Card applications, as well as applications for work and travel authorization while the Green Card applications are pending. Please see this flyer for more details.

Therefore, anyone with an approved Immigrant Worker Petition (I-140) should refer to the “Dates For Filing” charts in the following links in order to determine whether they are eligible to file a Green Card application:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-priority-dates/adjustment-of-status-filing-charts-from-the-visa-bulletin

Please note that for individuals born in India for whom you have filed and received an approved I-140 in the 2nd preference category (“EB-2”) with a Priority Date between May 16, 2011 and January 1, 2014, it may be possible to file a new I-140 with a “downgrade” request to the 3rd preference category (“EB-3”), which would allow them to file a Green Card application in October. Each of these cases will need to be analyzed individually to determine whether this is a viable strategy.

Please also note that we expect the Priority Dates to move backward (retrogress) – possibly as soon as January – so we urge all eligible applicants to apply by December 31st. Therefore, please contact us here at Savitz Law as soon as possible to get everything started.

For more information on green cards and the process to obtain them, make sure to check out our Green Card General Information page, Green Card Process Overview page, and PERM Labor Certification News Flash page.