PERM

In plain terms: PERM is the Department of Labor (DOL) program that decides whether an employer may sponsor a foreign worker for a permanent job. PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management, the system DOL uses to process these applications.

The employer files the PERM application, Form ETA-9089, after the prevailing wage is set and local recruitment is complete. The application includes the job description and requirements, the prevailing wage, the results of the recruitment, and information about the employer and the worker being sponsored. The employer signs it and attests, under penalty of law, that the information is true and that the recruitment was done in good faith. The date DOL receives the PERM application becomes the worker’s priority date.

What it means for you: the employer is the applicant, and the law requires the employer to pay the costs of the PERM, such as the recruitment ads and the attorney fees for the PERM. These costs can’t be passed on to the worker.

PERM labor certification

In plain terms: PERM labor certification is DOL’s approval of the PERM application: the certification that the employer may hire a foreign worker for the job because there aren’t enough U.S. workers available for it.

Before certifying, DOL checks that the employer recruited for the job, that no able, willing, qualified and available U.S. worker applied, and that hiring a foreign worker won’t lower wages or working conditions for U.S. workers. A certified PERM is valid for 180 days, and the I-140 petition must be filed with USCIS within those 180 days. If it isn’t, the certification expires and the PERM process starts over.

PERM request for information (RFI)

In plain terms: a PERM request for information is a notice from DOL asking the employer for more information or documents before it decides the PERM application.

DOL sends an RFI when it wants to verify something in the application, such as how the recruitment was done or whether a job requirement is justified. The notice lists exactly what DOL needs and sets a deadline to respond, and a late or incomplete response can lead to a denial. Under the regulation, the employer has 30 days to respond, and DOL may grant one extension of up to 30 more days. An RFI adds time to the case, but it isn’t a denial.

Documents DOL may ask for include:

• The prevailing wage determination for the job.
• Proof of each recruitment step, such as the state workforce agency job order and copies of the two Sunday newspaper ads.
• The notice of filing, with where and when it was posted.
• The recruitment report, U.S. applicants’ resumes, and the job-related reason each applicant wasn’t hired.
• Proof that the employer is an active business and that the job is permanent and full-time.
• Support for any job requirement that goes beyond what’s normal for the occupation.

PERM audit

In plain terms: PERM audit is the common name for a PERM request for information. DOL now uses the term RFI in its requests, but many employers still say audit. They mean the same thing, and the documents involved are the ones listed under PERM request for information above.

PERM processing time

In plain terms: PERM processing time is how long DOL takes to review a PERM application and issue a decision.

DOL reviews PERM applications in the order it receives them and publishes its current processing times each month on its FLAG processing times page, showing which month’s applications it’s reviewing now and the average number of days a review takes. An RFI adds time to an individual case.

What it means for you: PERM processing time is one of the longest parts of the EB-3 process, and it’s separate from the Visa Bulletin wait that comes later. The current PERM processing time is listed on the employer processing times page.