Overview
The PERM Labor Certification process, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), serves as the foundational requirement for most employment-based permanent residency categories (EB-2 and EB-3). Designed to safeguard domestic wages and employment opportunities, PERM requires U.S. employers to test the local labor market through recruitment before filing permanent residency petitions for foreign workers.
Requirements
A Prevailing Wage Determination
The process begins with obtaining an official Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) from the Department of Labor establishing the minimum salary for the role.
A regulated recruitment campaign
The sponsoring employer must execute a mandatory recruitment campaign strictly defined by DOL regulations: newspaper advertisements, job orders filed with state workforce agencies, internal workplace notices, and additional professional recruitment steps.
No qualified U.S. applicant
If no qualified, willing, available, and able U.S. worker applies for the open role, the employer files ETA Form 9089 electronically with the Department of Labor for adjudication.
Key benefits
- Establishes the official priority date for the foreign employee’s permanent residency journey.
- Provides a structured legal framework protecting both foreign national employees and domestic labor standards.
- Approved PERM certifications allow employers to file Form I-140 immigrant petitions.
- Pending or approved PERM filings allow H-1B employees to extend status beyond the standard six-year limit.