The U.S. Department of Labor has published a variety of PERM FAQs. Most persons who obtain permanent residence in the United States through employment must undergo the PERM (labor certification) process. Employers must submit PERM applications to the U.S. Department of Labor demonstrating that they have attempted to recruit U.S. workers for the job in question, but have been unsuccessful.
The first step in the labor certification process is for the employer to electronically request a prevailing wage determination (PWD) from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The employer provides the DOL with job duties, requirements and location.
Then, the employer must conduct good faith recruitment to see if there are any qualified U.S. workers for the job. He must advertise the job in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment. The employer must also advertise the job with the state workforce agency and post a notice of the job opportunity at the work site.
Finally, if no qualified U.S. workers apply for the job, the employer must prepare and submit a PERM application, form ETA-9089, electronically to the DOL. Generally, the DOL takes several months to adjudicate the PERM application.
If and when the application is approved, the employer has 180 days to submit a form I-140 visa petition to the USCIS.
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Over the past 30 years, our US immigration law firm has been successful in obtaining the approval of thousands of PERM, or Department of Labor labor certification, applications for a wide-variety of professional, skilled and unskilled workers. We hope the information contained on this page helps you to better understand the PERM process.
This page is divided into the following subtopics:
- Success Stories
- General Information
- Foreign Labor Application Gateway
- PERM Specialization FAQs
- PERM FAQs
SUCCESS STORIES – PERM
- Overturning the Denial of a PERM Application (April 2014)
- Getting a PERM Denial Reversed (March 2010)
- Software Developer: “Our First PERM Approval” (September 2005)
GENERAL INFORMATION – PERM
- PERM – Permanent Labor Certification (USDOL)
- Permanent Online System Users Guide (USDOL)
- Online PERM Registration (USDOL)
- DOL ETA/OFLC Atlanta National Processing Center Standard Operating Procedures (12-10-10)
- DOL Final Regulation re: Substitution of Labor Certificates (5-17-07)
- PERM Regulations – (12-27-04)
- Summary of PERM Regulations – (AILA)
FOREIGN LABOR APPLICATION GATEWAY
- FLAG
- iCert Portal User Guide
- Announcing the New iCERT Portal System for Temporary and Permanent Labor Certifications (4-15-09)
- Announcement of New iCERT Visa Portal System – Coming April 15, 2009