PERM Labor Certification: How the Employer's Process Works Step by Step

What the Labor Department decides

The Immigration and Nationality Act makes a person who seeks to enter the United States to perform skilled or unskilled labor inadmissible unless the Secretary of Labor certifies that there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified and available at the time and place, and that the employment will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed (INA 212(a)(5)(A)(i)). PERM is the procedure that produces that certification for most employer-sponsored cases.

The Certifying Officer grants or denies the application based on whether the employer has met the requirements of part 656 and whether a U.S. worker who is able, willing, qualified and available exists. A U.S. worker qualifies by education, training, experience or a combination, or can acquire the skills during a reasonable period of on-the-job training (20 CFR 656.24(b)). If DOL grants the case, the certified application and the Final Determination form go to the employer, agent or attorney, who may file them with DHS.

Step one: the prevailing wage

The employer first requests a prevailing wage determination from DOL's National Processing Center (20 CFR 656.40(a)). The determination is valid for no less than 90 days and no more than one year from the determination date, and the employer must file or begin recruitment within that period (20 CFR 656.40(c)). DOL's processing page showed on 30 September 2026 that it was working on requests received in June 2026.

Step two: write the job requirements carefully

The requirements for the job are the first place where DOL checks the case. Under 20 CFR 656.17(h) and (i):

• the requirements must be normal for the occupation and may not exceed the level of the O*NET Job Zone, unless the employer documents business necessity;
• a foreign-language requirement is allowed only with documented business necessity, for example translation work or the need to communicate with customers or staff who do not speak English;
• alternative requirements must be substantially equivalent to the primary requirements; and
• the stated requirements must be the employer's actual minimum requirements. DOL may compare them with the training of a current employee at the time of hire.

Step three: recruitment and the notice of filing

For a professional occupation the employer must carry out mandatory recruitment between 30 and 180 days before filing: a 30-day job order with the State Workforce Agency and two print ads on two different Sundays. The employer must also choose three additional steps from a list that includes job fairs, the employer's website, a non-employer job site, on-campus recruiting, trade or professional organizations, private employment firms, an employee referral program with incentives, campus placement offices, local or ethnic newspapers, and radio or television ads. Only one additional step may fall within 30 days of filing (20 CFR 656.17(e)(1)).

The ads must name the employer, describe the job specifically and give the geographic area. They may not list requirements beyond those on Form ETA-9089 or offer terms less favorable than those offered to the worker (20 CFR 656.17(f)).

The employer must also give notice of filing. If the employees have a bargaining representative, the notice goes to the representative. If not, the employer posts it at the worksite for at least 10 consecutive business days and publishes it in its in-house media. The notice states that any person may send documentary evidence to the Certifying Officer, and it must be given 30 to 180 days before filing (20 CFR 656.10(d)).

Step four: U.S. applicants, the recruitment report and layoffs

The employer, or its representative who normally interviews applicants for similar jobs, reviews the U.S. applicants. The worker and the worker's agent or attorney may not interview or consider U.S. workers (20 CFR 656.10(b)). The recruitment report must describe the steps taken, the results, any hires and the U.S. workers rejected for lawful job-related reasons. Rejecting a U.S. worker for lacking skills that could be learned in a reasonable period of on-the-job training is not a lawful reason (20 CFR 656.17(g)).

If the employer laid off workers in the area of intended employment within six months of filing, in the occupation or a related one, it must document that it notified and considered those workers (20 CFR 656.17(k)). If the worker has an ownership interest, family ties to the owners or is one of a few employees, the employer must be ready to prove during an audit that the job is a bona fide opportunity open to U.S. workers (20 CFR 656.17(l)).

Step five: filing, audits and the DOL decision

The employer files Form ETA-9089. Supporting documentation is not filed with the application, but the Certifying Officer may order an audit. The audit letter sets a response date 30 days after the letter, with one extension of up to 30 days, and an application is denied if the documents are not sent by the date. A substantial failure to provide documentation can also lead to supervised recruitment in later filings for up to two years (20 CFR 656.20, 656.21).

If DOL denies the case, the Final Determination form states the reasons and the review procedures, and it warns that missing the 30-day review deadline means the employer has not exhausted administrative remedies (20 CFR 656.24(e)).

Note 1

After certification: priority date, Form I-140 and who pays

DHS and the State Department may use the filing date of the approved certification as the priority date (20 CFR 656.30(a)). A certification expires unless it is filed with Form I-140 within 180 calendar days of the grant. It is valid only for the occupation, the named worker and the area of intended employment in the application (20 CFR 656.30(b), (c)). For the I-140 the petitioner must show that it can pay the offered wage from the time the priority date is established, with annual reports, federal tax returns or audited financial statements (8 CFR 204.5(g)(2)). The employment green card guide covers the I-140 fees, premium processing and the Visa Bulletin.

Cost is a common question. 20 CFR 656.12(b) says an employer must not seek or receive payment of any kind for any activity related to obtaining permanent labor certification. A worker may pay his or her own costs in connection with a labor certification, such as the worker's own attorney. Where the same attorney represents both the worker and the employer, the labor certification costs are borne by the employer.