For many employer-sponsored EB-2 and EB-3 green card cases, PERM is the stage that must work before the immigration petition can move forward. The process is employer-driven: a U.S. employer identifies a permanent, full-time position, obtains a prevailing wage, tests the U.S. labor market under Department of Labor rules, and asks DOL to certify the job opportunity.
PERM is not a green card application by itself. DOL must be satisfied that there are not sufficient able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers for the offered position and that hiring the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
Where PERM Fits in the Green Card Process
In a standard PERM-based EB-2 or EB-3 case, the sequence is usually labor certification, Form I-140 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and then adjustment of status in the United States or immigrant visa processing abroad when a visa number is available. Some employment-based categories do not require PERM, so the correct route depends on the classification.
The filing date of an approved PERM application generally becomes the worker’s priority date, which can matter greatly in categories with visa backlogs. Related internal guides on employment-based green cards and EB-2 versus EB-3 eligibility can explain the surrounding steps.
Step 1: Define the Permanent Job Opportunity
The employer begins by defining the actual job: duties, work location, minimum education, training, experience, and any special requirements. These must reflect the employer’s real minimum needs and generally must be normal for the occupation unless stricter requirements can be justified under the regulations.
The prevailing wage request, recruitment materials, and ETA Form 9089 should describe the same opportunity. A later change such as adding travel or increasing required experience can create a mismatch and may force part of the process to restart.
Step 2: Obtain the Prevailing Wage
Before filing PERM, the employer must obtain a valid prevailing wage determination from DOL’s National Prevailing Wage Center. The prevailing wage is tied to the occupation, duties, minimum requirements, and area of intended employment. It establishes the wage floor the employer must observe for the sponsored position under the PERM rules.
As of June 30, 2026, DOL showed PERM prevailing wage requests using OEWS data being processed from April 2026, while non-OEWS PERM requests were being processed from March 2026. Those queue dates are snapshots, not guaranteed completion dates.
Step 3: Complete PERM Recruitment
The exact PERM recruitment steps depend on whether the position is professional or nonprofessional. For a professional occupation, the standard process includes a 30-day State Workforce Agency job order and two Sunday newspaper advertisements. The employer must also use three additional methods from the choices allowed by regulation, such as the employer website, another job-search website, a job fair, campus recruiting, a professional organization, an employee referral program with incentives, a private employment firm, or specified local media.
Timing matters as much as the advertising itself. Mandatory recruitment is generally conducted at least 30 days and no more than 180 days before filing. For professional positions, only one of the three additional steps may take place solely within the 30 days immediately before filing.
Notice of Filing and applicant review
Employers must also meet the Notice of Filing rules. If there is no bargaining representative for the relevant workers, the notice generally must be posted for at least 10 consecutive business days and provided between 30 and 180 days before filing. Required in-house media must also be used when applicable.
PERM recruitment is a real labor-market test. The employer must consider U.S. applicants in good faith and may reject them only for lawful, job-related reasons, then document the recruitment results.
Consider a software company sponsoring a senior data engineer whose PERM job requires five years of experience. If a U.S. applicant has five qualifying years and meets the stated education requirements, the company cannot reject that person simply because the foreign worker has more experience or already knows the company’s systems. PERM tests availability for the offered job as defined, not which candidate the employer prefers.
Step 4: File ETA Form 9089
After recruitment and the applicable waiting period, the employer can file ETA Form 9089 through DOL’s FLAG system. Supporting evidence is generally retained rather than submitted initially, but it must be available for an audit. Employers generally must keep the PERM application and supporting documentation for five years from filing.
DOL may certify the case, deny it, or select it for audit. An audit can require recruitment records and other evidence, adding another review stage. DOL may also order supervised recruitment in certain cases.
How Long Does PERM Take in 2026?
There is no guaranteed end-to-end timeline. As of July 17, 2026, DOL reported analyst review working on cases with July 2025 priority dates and an average of 403 calendar days for analyst-review determinations completed in June 2026.
Audit review was listed as processing December 2025 filings, with a June 2026 average of 290 calendar days. These figures describe DOL’s workload, not promises for an individual case. A new case also needs prevailing wage and recruitment stages before filing, so employers should plan for a long, multi-stage process.
A practical scheduling tip
Lock the job requirements before requesting the prevailing wage and keep a calendar showing the wage validity period, each recruitment date, the Notice of Filing period, the 30-day waiting rules, and the final filing deadline. This can prevent an advertisement, job order, or notice from falling outside the permitted window.
What Happens After DOL Certification?
After certification, the employer normally files Form I-140 in the appropriate employment-based category. An approved labor certification generally must be filed in support of the I-140 within 180 calendar days of DOL certification. The worker’s later ability to obtain permanent residence can also depend on visa-number availability and the Department of State Visa Bulletin.
Natural internal follow-ups at this point include a guide to Form I-140 requirements and an explanation of employment-based priority dates and the Visa Bulletin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employee file PERM without an employer?
Standard PERM is employer-sponsored. The U.S. employer files for a permanent, full-time job opportunity and carries the recruitment and attestation responsibilities.
Does PERM approval mean the green card is approved?
No. DOL certification completes the labor certification stage. The employer normally must still file Form I-140, and the worker must later complete adjustment of status or immigrant visa processing when eligible.
Can a PERM case be audited?
Yes. DOL can select applications for audit. The employer must then provide requested supporting documentation, which makes careful recruitment records and consistent job requirements essential.
Does every EB-2 or EB-3 case require PERM?
No. PERM is common for employer-sponsored EB-2 and EB-3 cases, but exceptions exist. The correct strategy depends on the worker, job, and immigration classification.
Final Takeaway
The PERM labor certification process is a tightly sequenced project. The employer must define the job, obtain the prevailing wage, recruit correctly, document the results, observe filing windows, and submit an accurate ETA Form 9089. With 2026 DOL processing times stretching the journey, planning matters. Strong cases keep the job requirements, wage, recruitment, and final application consistent.
