PRE-ARRANGED EMPLOYMENT VISA

1.  Pre-Arranged Employment Visa shall be issued only to persons who
fulfill the requirements of the Immigration Act, Sections 9(g) and
20(a), as follows:

“SECTION 9.            Aliens departing from any place outside the
Philippines, who are otherwise admissible and who qualify within one of
the following categories, may be admitted as nonimmigrants.

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“(g)    An alien coming to prearranged employment, for whom the
issuance of a visa has been authorized in accordance with Section Twenty
of this Act, and his wife, and his unmarried children under twenty-one
years of age, if accompanying him or if following to join him within a
period of six months from the date of his admission into the Philippines
as a non-immigrant under this paragraph. (As amended by Rep. Act No.
503).

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“Section 20(a)           A passport visa for non-immigrant referred
to in Section 9 (g) of this Act who is coming to prearranged employment
shall not be issued by a Consular Officer until the Consular Officers
shall have received authorization for the issuance of the visa. Such
authorization shall be given only on petition filed within the
Commissioner of Immigration establishing that no person can be found in
the Philippines willing and competent to perform the labor or service
for which the non-immigrant is desired and that the non-immigrant’s
admission would be beneficial to the public interest.  The petition
shall be made under oath in the form and manner prescribed by
regulations, by the prospective employer or his representative.  The
petition shall state fully the nature of the labor service for which the
non-immigrant is desired, the probable length of time for which he is
to be engaged, the wages and other compensation which he is to receive,
the reason why a person in the Philippines cannot be engaged to perform
the labor or service for which the non-immigrant is desired and why the
non-immigrant’s admission would be beneficial to the public interest. 
The petition shall be accompanied by a certified copy of any written
contract or agreement entered into for the immigrant’s service and shall
contain such additional information as may be deemed material.
 Substantiation of all the allegations made in the petition shall be
required and the allegations that no person can be found in the
Philippines willing and competent to perform the labor or service for
which the non-immigrant is desired and that the non-immigrant’s
admission would be beneficial to the public interest shall be
established beyond doubt by convincing and satisfactory evidence.”

2.  A petition for pre-arranged employment visa shall state the
matters enumerated in the Immigration Act Section 20(a) and shall be
supported by the following documents establishing that a) no person can
be found in the Philippines willing and competent to perform the labor
or service for which the non-immigrant is desired and that b) the
non-immigrant’s admission would be beneficial to the public interest.

a.       Letter request from the petitioning company;

b.       Application form completely filled-up by petitioning company and notarized;

c.       Bio-data of the employee;

d.       Certified copy of any written contract or agreement entered into for the immigrants service;

e.       Articles of incorporation of the petitioning company;

f.        SEC Certificate of Registration of the petitioning company;

g.       Alien employment permit from Department of Labor and Employment;

h.       Affidavit of support/guaranty for duration of employment;

i.        Income Tax Return of the petitioner, if engaged in business;

j.        Xerox copy of the passport of the employee;

k.       Such other documents as may be deemed necessary and material to an adequate evaluation of the petition.

3.  A petition for pre-arranged employment visa shall be filed with
the Law and Investigation Division and shall be assigned to one of its
members.  The CID lawyer assigned shall examine the documents and shall
determine whether or not the application complies with the requirements
of the preceding paragraph.  If the application is incomplete, the CID
lawyer shall return the application and provide the applicant with a
checklist of the additional documents to be submitted.  If the
application is complete, the CID lawyer shall issue a certificate to
that effect and transmit the application to the Board of Special Inquiry
(BSI).

4.  A petition for pre-arranged employment visa shall be raffled
among the three (3) BSI and shall be calendared for hearing in open
court at the earliest available date and time.  The BSI shall give the
petitioner at least three (3) days notice of the scheduled hearing. No
postponement shall be granted.  The BSI shall hear a petition
continuously within a period not exceeding two (2) days.

The petitioner may be represented by counsel of his own choice who
shall propound questions to the witnesses in the presence of the member
of the CID Law and Investigation Division assigned to the case.  The CID
lawyer may propound additional questions to the witnesses to ensure
compliance with the requirements of the law and implementing
instructions.

The petitioner shall present not more than two (2) witnesses in
support of its petition. Any third party may file an opposition to the
petition which likewise shall be heard in open court.  The BSI shall
submit its recommendations to the Board of Commissioners not later than
three (3) days following the termination of the hearings in open court.

5.  If the Board of Commissioners finds that the petition complies
with the requirements of Sec. 20(a) and that the petitioner has
established the facts entitling him to the authorization, the Board
shall grant the petition and the Commissioner shall so inform the
petitioner and promptly transmit the authorization to the consular
office at which the non-immigrant is to apply for a visa. (Immigration
Act, Sec. 20(b).

If the alien was previously admitted in the Philippines under a
different class of non-immigrants, a petition for change of category
shall likewise be filed showing clearly the facts which warrant the
grant. In such case, the Commissioner may waive the requirement that the
pre-arranged employment visa be obtained at the consular office abroad.

6.  The Board of Commissioners shall meet on the first and third
Mondays of each month to deliberate on the petition for pre-arranged
employment visa.  Petitions which have been duly heard by the BSI and
for which it has already issued recommendations, shall be calendared for
the immediately succeeding board meetings.

The pre-arranged employment visa shall be granted for a period co-
terminous with the employment contract but in no case to exceed two (2)
years.

In the event that the decision of the Board of Commissioners is
adverse to the petitioner, he may file a motion for reconsideration
within five (5) days from notice of the decision.

7.  An application for extension of a prearranged employment visa
shall be filed with the Law and Investigation Division at least one
month before the expiration of the authorized stay.  The application
shall set forth such facts as may be necessary to show that the basis
for the grant of the original petition continue to exist.

The application shall be supported by the following documents:

a.       Letter request from the petitioning company,

b.       Application form completely filled-up by petitioning company and notarized;

c.       Alien employment permit from Department of Labor and Employment valid for the extension requested;

d.       Renewal of Employment Contract if the same has expired;

e.       Income Tax Return of the petitioning company;

f.        Proof that the taxes due on the compensation of the employee have been duly paid;

g.       Xerox copy of the passport of the employee.

8.  An application for extension filed with the Law and Investigation
Division shall be assigned to one of its members for examination
referred to in paragraph 3, above. After the CID lawyer has certified
that the application is complete, the application shall be raffled among
the three (3) BSI which shall then observe the same procedure outlines
in paragraphs 4 and 5, above, except that the BSI shall submit its
recommendations to the Board of Commissioners not later than the day
following the termination of the hearings in open court.

The Board of Commissioners shall observe the procedure outlined in
paragraph 6, with respect to the disposition of an application for
extension, except that no application for extension of a pre-arranged
employment visa shall be granted at one time for more than one (1) year,
or beyond the effectivity of the employment contract whichever comes
first.  The total period of the authorized stay of a pre-arranged
employee shall not exceed five (5) years except in every exceptional
cases where it is clearly shown that a) the skills and services of the
pre-arranged employee are so unique and specialized such as will require
additional time for the training of the Filipino understudies and b)
the operations of the petitioner substantially benefit the public
interest.  In these exceptional cases a pre-arranged employee may be
granted additional yearly extensions but not to exceed five (5) years.

Adopted: 4 March 1988

(SGD.) MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO
Commissioner