PERM Reform Would Update Recruitment and Employer Compliance
Current status
Under OIRA review
In effect?
Not in effectSubmission has not changed current PERM rules
Community score
Last checked
ET
DOL plans to rewrite the PERM labor market test so that recruitment channels track how employers actually hire, while raising the bar for showing that no qualified U.S. worker could be found. The reform would also strengthen protections for laid-off U.S. workers and impose stricter nondiscrimination, hiring and recordkeeping duties on employers.
Who is affected
Employees pursuing employer-sponsored green cards, and the employers filing PERM for them, including people currently in H-1B status.
Key boundaries
This concerns permanent labor certification only. It is unrelated to H-1B cap selection and separate from the #06 wage-level proposal, RIN 1205-AC30.
Next to watch
Date unknown · Await the OIRA review outcome and a DOL NPRM specifying recruitment channels, covered cases and the comment deadline.
Review scope
The September 14 pending OIRA record and Federal Register RIN search were reviewed September 24. No public NPRM was verified; a search miss does not prove none exists.
Policy background
00 / BACKGROUND
PERM is the labor certification an employer must obtain before sponsoring a foreign worker for an employment-based green card: the employer has to show it recruited U.S. workers in good faith and found no qualified person. The reform sits under 20 CFR 656, and DOL sent the proposed rule to the White House OIRA for prepublication review on September 14, 2026. The Unified Agenda originally targeted July 2026 for an NPRM; this September 22 check did not locate published text. A target month is not a publication date, and even less an effective date.
Five changes practitioners expect
These five items come from law-firm and practitioner analysis based on the agenda language and recent enforcement cases. They are not published DOL terms, and not all five are likely to appear in a final rule. At least three already appeared in the Justice Department’s August 4, 2026 PERM settlement with OpenAI: DOJ found the company did not post PERM positions on its public job site, accepted only paper applications by mail, and ran late-night radio ads; the settlement requires it to post on its career site and accept electronic applications. The direction is not merely theoretical.
01
Drop the mandatory newspaper ad
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.
02
Move to modern recruitment channels
Require or allow social media, job boards and other current channels, while dropping outdated ones such as radio and television.
03
Stop requiring mailed resumes
Stop treating “paper applications by mail only” as compliant recruitment, so a physical step does not screen applicants out.
04
Post roles on the company job page
If an employer has its own careers page, PERM roles should appear there, not only in a newspaper or on the state job board.
05
Accept applications through the ATS
If an employer uses an applicant tracking system, applicants should be able to apply through it rather than to a single mailbox or mailing address.
Potential impact
01 / IMPACT
OUR TAKE · ANALYSIS
Preparing a green-card sponsorship case may take more time on recruitment and files.
Our assessment: the direction of the reform is to make PERM recruitment resemble how a company actually hires. If a final rule follows that direction, recruitment channels, how applications are accepted and what records are kept could all change, and the staff time and cost per case would likely rise. Employers that recently laid people off could also face more complex checks of related positions and recruitment records. The specific directions listed below come from law-firm and practitioner expectations, not published terms. Until an NPRM appears, no one can establish which new documents would be required, how long a case would be delayed, or which pending cases would be affected.
For employers: more recruitment and recordkeeping work
Higher minimum recruitment and recordkeeping standards could require process changes and additional evidence. Which new steps would be required, and what they would cost, cannot yet be calculated.
For example · Hypothetical
A company is preparing PERM sponsorship for Chen. If a final rule requires fuller recruitment records, HR may need more time to organize applications and recruitment outcomes. This illustrates a possible effect of stricter requirements; no specific additional advertisement or document has yet been established.
For employers with layoffs: U.S.-worker protections could tighten
The agenda expressly calls for stronger protections for laid-off U.S. workers, but does not say how far back the lookback runs, which positions are covered, or whether each worker must be notified. It does not establish that a layoff bars a PERM filing.
For example · Hypothetical
Lin’s company recently laid off employees and is preparing to start PERM sponsorship. The agenda identifies protection of laid-off U.S. workers as a reform objective, which could mean more detailed checks of relevant positions. The scope is not yet specified, so this does not establish that the company cannot pursue PERM now.
For H-1B employees: green-card timing could slip
If employer preparation takes longer, the employee’s green-card plan could shift. That is a conditional assessment; submission for review does not cancel existing H-1B status.
For example · Hypothetical
Wang works in H-1B status and has an employer commitment to start green-card sponsorship this year. If stricter preparation requirements eventually apply to the case, the filing plan could shift. This submission for review has not changed Wang’s H-1B status and cannot establish a delay of any particular length.
Outlook
02 / OUTLOOK
Our assessment: watch when OIRA closes review and what the NPRM actually says. Four things matter most: the recruitment-channel list, layoff-related notice and review duties, the record-retention period, and how a new rule would apply to cases already filed. Until those terms are public, we will not state a delay in months or a probability of adoption.
What happens in each case?
Choose a situation below to see its possible effects. These are alternatives, not steps or predictions of likelihood.
IF THIS HAPPENS A · Review continues, or the plan changes
Current rules keep applying
Assumption: OIRA review remains open, or DOL revises the plan.
Potential effects in this scenario
Employers can prepare cases under current rules. An agenda abstract alone cannot establish what requirements would be added later.
Signals to watch
Whether OIRA closes review and whether DOL publishes a formal proposal.
These scenarios are our analysis, not probability rankings. We revise them as evidence changes.
Which boundaries could change this analysis?
Relevant process
PERM permanent labor certification under 20 CFR 656.
H-1B connection
Mainly the later employer-sponsored green-card step, not a direct change to cap selection or H-1B eligibility.
Current stage
Entered OIRA review September 14; this check did not locate a public NPRM, comment deadline or effective date.
Progress
03 / Federal rulemaking
DOL submitted its PERM reform proposal to OIRA on September 14, 2026. Prepublication review is ongoing; this check did not locate a public NPRM, and the reform is not in effect.
Currently waiting for
The OIRA review outcome and a DOL NPRM; detailed provisions, comment deadline and effective date remain unknown.
In progress · OIRA review
OIRA reviews the proposal before publication.
Key dates
04 / TIMELINE
DOL outlined PERM recruitment, layoff-protection and employer-compliance reforms, with an original July target for an NPRM.
The Justice Department settled its PERM case against OpenAI, requiring the company to post roles on its career site and accept electronic applications.
The proposed rule entered White House OIRA prepublication review.