(a) Employer obligations. Employers must conduct recruitment of U.S. workers to ensure that there are not qualified U.S. workers who will be available for the positions listed in the CW-1 Application for Temporary Employment Certification.

(b) Period to begin employer-conducted recruitment. Unless otherwise instructed by the CO, the employer must begin the recruitment required in §§655.442 through 655.445 within 14 calendar days from the date the NOA is issued. All employer-conducted recruitment must be completed before the employer submits the recruitment report as required in §655.446.

(c) Interviewing U.S. workers. Employers that wish to require interviews must conduct those interviews by phone or provide a procedure for the interviews to be conducted in the location where the worker is being recruited so that the worker incurs little or no cost. Employers cannot provide potential CW-1 workers with more favorable treatment with respect to the requirement for, and conduct of, interviews.

(d) Qualified and available U.S. workers. The employer must consider all U.S. applicants for the job opportunity and must hire all U.S. applicants who are qualified and who will be available for the job opportunity. U.S. applicants may be rejected only for lawful, job-related reasons, and those not rejected on this basis will be hired.

(e) Recruitment report. The employer must prepare a recruitment report meeting the requirements of §655.446, by the date specified by the CO in the NOA.