PERM — GREEN CARD THROUGH WORK — EMPLOYER PETITION WITH LABOR DEPARTMENT PRE-CERTIFICATION

PERM is the process of receiving a work sponsored green card through (1) obtaining a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor approving the job position, wages and level of employment, and (2) filing an Immigrant Worker Petition for the prospective foreign worker to fill the certified position.

Essentially, the employer is asking the U.S. government to bring in a green card holder employee to fill a special position in their company for which they could not find a U.S. worker through job advertising

Eligibility Criteria

Sub-categories	Evidence	Labor Certification
Skilled Workers	You must be able to demonstrate at least 2 years of job experience or training You must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States	Labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer required.
Professionals	You must be able to demonstrate that you possess a U.S. baccalaureate degree or foreign degree equivalent, and that a baccalaureate degree is the normal requirement for entry into the occupation You must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States Education and experience may not be substituted for a baccalaureate degree	Labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer required.
Unskilled Workers (Other Workers)	You must be capable, at the time the petition is filed on your behalf, of performing unskilled labor (requiring less than 2 years training or experience), that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.	Labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer required.

To obtain an approved PERM Labor Certification, the employer must prove (through online, newspaper and trade publication advertising and other recruiting methods) that they were unable to recruit a qualified U.S. worker for a specific position they have and must fill.

The employer must be prepared to hire the foreign worker on a full-time and permanent basis. The employer must pay all the PERM legal and government fees and pay for all advertising and recruitment efforts. The employer may not demand the employee to reimburse them for these fees.

There are 3 Steps to PERM:

1) Labor Certification with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification; and

2) I-140 USCIS Immigrant Petition; and

3) I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Resident for the foreign worker, the worker’s spouse and their children under 21 years of age.

PERM processing times

Between 1 year to 1.5 years depending on whether the file is audited or receives a request for evidence.

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Ekaterina Solovey

Family Immigration