Nomination Approval (457 Visa)

[kieu]

My sponsor company sponsored 457 before and it took only 2 months from nomination to the visa approval just last year.

 

My boss lodged the nomination application in late May. The IMMI asked for additional documents in late June and no further updates since then. It's been four months now and this processing time doesn't seem normal.

 

I am from LR country and the position is ICT Business Analyst in Melbourne. My position does not require a labour market testing in respect to the pay offered.

 

I can't figure out the possibility for such a long processing time and wonder if the company size matters as my company is really a small one (20-50 employees).

 

Grateful for any advice.

[Leanne Stevens]

It's a difficult one; we are noticing across the board that 457 visas are becoming increasingly scrutinied and wait times are increasing for everyone. Your boss could perhaps email the Department and ask for a follow up on the case if they haven't heard anything since June as your case does appear to be outside standard published proccessing times.

[claudiabbcm]

Hi. I am from Brazil.

nomination approval feb 08.

visa apply: Jun 22

ducuments requested: Aug 03.

give documents aug 17( medical and insurance).... Since august 17 my status is: Assessement in progress, has passes 3 months since I started my process. How long time I am going to have a answer? Thanks

[Mark Northam]

We're seeing the same thing as Leanne is - 457 processing times blown out to many months, not to mention the additional scrutiny, especially on small companies and non-trade professions (ie, marketing specialist, etc).

[wrussell]

Historically 457 nominations were almost always approved.

 

Some practitioners have been unkind enough to suggest that the current policy of refusing at the nomination level has been introduced to deprive visa applicants of a reviewable refusal decision.

[Mark Northam]

Hi Westly -

 

We're seeing a substantially increased 457 nomination refusal rate for small businesses, usually based on "genuine position" assumptions and conclusions by the case officer, having never stepped foot in the sponsoring employer's business or even bothering to contact the employer to clarify. While the 457 applicant can always let the visa be refused and take the nom + visa all to the AAT, it's time-consuming and expensive.

 

However in my experience AAT members on balance seem to be taking a much fairer and open-minded approach to the genuine position issue, and of course it helps when the employer is there in the hearing room with the member to explain exactly why the position is important to the company. It's also interesting to note that the AAT often ignores DIBP policy, as is their option to do, which leaves policy-heavy assessments like genuine position open to a much wider array of information and evidence at the AAT. Plus, overly-simplistic (some might say lazy) decision making by DIBP based on stereotyping businesses by their size and simply saying that the "size/scope/scale of the business" is not compatible with the ANZSCO details of an occupation is unfair to both businesses and applicants.

 

I've often wondered if DIBP case officers have their records noted when their decisions are reversed by the AAT. Seeing as DIBP keeps a scorecard for every migration agent noting the ratio of refusals to approvals, seems only fair that case officers should be measured by a similar system.

[Suzannecopps]

Hi, I would like some advice please?

 

my employer sponsorship nomination for a 457 visa was approved 6th sept (took nearly 2 months) I am the primary and my husband is on my visa app too - we are both from the UK and I work in recruitment industry.

 

i have completed and submitted my own visa application on the 23rd Sept. I am a little worried as I have declared my husband had two motoring offences in 2005 and 2006. Do you think this will have an effect on the approval? I'm worrying a little bit, especially as we paid the fees and private health insurance so far.

[kieu]

It's a difficult one; we are noticing across the board that 457 visas are becoming increasingly scrutinied and wait times are increasing for everyone. Your boss could perhaps email the Department and ask for a follow up on the case if they haven't heard anything since June as your case does appear to be outside standard published proccessing times.

 

Thank you very much for your advice, Leanne. I talked to my bosses in late August about it and hope he would contact the Immi. It's hard for me to urge him doing so though. After all, he's the boss. Hope the nomination will go right.

[kieu]

We're seeing the same thing as Leanne is - 457 processing times blown out to many months, not to mention the additional scrutiny, especially on small companies and non-trade professions (ie, marketing specialist, etc).

 

Thanks for your info. Mark. I feel more positive towards my nomination. At least I can assume the long wait may be due to my SBS company size.

[wrussell]

While the 457 applicant can always let the visa be refused and take the nom + visa all to the AAT, it's time-consuming and expensive.

 

As you know, if the nomination is not approved at review, the AAT has no jurisdiction to hear the visa refusal application. The process is not only time-consuming and expensive, it is fraught.

 

Lodging another nomination application might be worthwhile in some cases.

 

It is most annoying that applicants are required to pay to correct the errors of case officers and others. In the good old days, at least the filing fee was refunded to successful applicants.

 

Currently , the only way to have the full filing fee refunded is to pay 1/2 fee on hardship grounds and then win the case. I did not know this until I unexpectedly received a refund of a 1/2 fee.

[Wei Shu]

Quite a large numbered of nomination applications will fail to satisfy R.2.72(10(f), a corner grocery store had successfully nominated a couple of Customer Service Managers are things of the past.