DOL plans to update four parts of PERM: which channels employers recruit through, how laid-off U.S. workers are protected, how recruiting discrimination is prevented, and what records must be kept. The proposal went to the White House’s OIRA on September 14 and review finished October 23 with “Consistent with Change,” meaning DOL can publish once it makes the White House’s requested changes. Next, DOL publishes the full proposal in the Federal Register with a public comment deadline.
PERM, also called labor certification, is the first step of an employment-based green card. The employer has to recruit publicly through set channels and show it genuinely tried to hire U.S. workers and found no qualified one; only after the Department of Labor approves can it file Form I-140. PERM’s rules are in the federal regulation at 20 CFR 656, largely written in 2005.
DOL listed the reform in the government’s rulemaking plan, aiming to publish a proposal in July. On September 14, 2026 it sent the proposal to the White House’s OIRA for review; on October 23 OIRA finished (review record rrid=1533011) with the conclusion “Consistent with Change.” The full proposal has not been published yet, and the current PERM rules still apply.
These five items are predictions by law firms and practitioners based on the government’s plan and recent enforcement; the actual terms will be in DOL’s published proposal. At least three already showed up in the Justice Department’s August 4, 2026 PERM settlement with OpenAI: DOJ found the company did not post PERM jobs on its public careers site, accepted only paper applications by mail and ran late-night radio ads; the settlement requires it to post on its own site and accept online applications.
Stop requiring a print advertisement in a local newspaper. Print ads are a holdover from the 2005 rule, and most technical job seekers never see them.
Require or allow social media, job boards and other current channels, while dropping outdated ones such as radio and television.
Stop treating “paper applications by mail only” as compliant recruitment, so a physical step does not screen applicants out.
If an employer has its own careers page, PERM roles should appear there, not only in a newspaper or on the state job board.
If an employer uses an applicant tracking system (ATS, the online system you submit a resume through), applicants should be able to apply through it rather than to a single mailbox or mailing address.
Our view: the reform aims to make PERM recruiting look more like how companies really hire. If it goes that way, recruiting channels, how applications are taken and what records are kept may all change, and each case will likely cost employers more time and money; companies with recent layoffs will have more checking to do. The five items below are predictions from law firms and industry; the proposal will have the actual terms.
If minimum recruiting and recordkeeping standards go up, companies will need to change their process and keep more evidence. The proposal will spell out which steps and what cost.
A company is preparing PERM for Chen. If the final rule requires fuller recruitment records, HR would need to compile more application and hiring data, and preparation would take longer.
The plan says protections for laid-off U.S. workers will be stronger. How far back it looks, which jobs count and whether each worker must be notified will be set in the proposal. Companies that had layoffs can still file PERM.
Lin’s company recently had layoffs and is about to start his PERM. With stronger protections for laid-off workers, the company may have to check related jobs more carefully; the proposal will set the scope.
If employer preparation takes longer, the employee’s green-card timeline could shift. Existing H-1B status continues as before.
Wang is on H-1B and his employer has committed to start his green card this year. If the new rules mean more preparation, the filing could slip; Wang’s H-1B status continues as before.
OIRA is done; next comes DOL’s formal proposal. Watch for recruiting channels, notice and checks after layoffs, how long records must be kept and how cases already filed are handled.
Pick a situation to see what it would mean for you. The three are side-by-side possibilities, in no particular order.
Assumption: OIRA has finished; DOL has not published the proposal yet.
These scenarios are our analysis and get updated as new documents come out.
OIRA finished reviewing the PERM proposal on October 23, 2026 and cleared it with changes; until the full proposal is published, current rules apply.
DOL’s proposal and comment deadline.
The White House’s OIRA reviews it before it goes public; publication usually follows soon after.
DOL listed PERM reform in the government’s rulemaking plan, aiming to publish a proposal in July.
DOJ settled with OpenAI over PERM, requiring it to post jobs on its own site and accept online applications.
The proposal went to the White House’s OIRA for review.
OIRA finished review and cleared the proposal once changes are made (Consistent with Change).