Green Card Through Employment — A Plain-English Overview of the PERM Process

Voices Magazine includes a clear informational section explaining that approximately 140,000 immigrant visas (green cards) are available each fiscal year for noncitizens and their spouses and children who seek to immigrate based on job skills.

The article frames eligibility in simple terms: if you have the right combination of skills, education, and/or work experience and are otherwise eligible, you may be able to live permanently in the United States.

Step One: A U.S. Job Offer + Proving the Job Can’t Be Filled by U.S. Workers

Voices states that the first step is to have an offer of employment for a job from a U.S. employer and prove that the employer cannot fill it with U.S. workers. This process is called PERM and involves labor certification through the Department of Labor (DOL).

What Labor Certification Verifies

According to the article, DOL labor certification verifies two key points:

There are insufficient available, qualified, and willing U.S. workers to fill the position at the prevailing wage

Hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers

Recruitment: How the Employer Shows They Tried

Voices explains that the employer proves it cannot find workers in the U.S. by undertaking proper recruitment. It lists mandatory recruitment efforts, including opening a 30-day job order with the state workforce office and posting a notice of intent to employ a foreign worker internally or with the union covering the position.

For professional positions under DOL regulations, the article adds that three of ten additional recruitment efforts must be undertaken, such as job fairs, the employer’s website, job search websites, on-campus recruiting, trade/professional organizations, private employment firms, referral programs with incentives, campus placement offices, local/ethnic newspapers, and radio/TV ads.

It also notes a timing rule: two of the three additional recruitment steps must be completed 30 days prior to filing the labor certification application with the DOL.

After DOL Approval

Voices is very direct about sequence: only after DOL approves the labor certification application can the case proceed to be filed with USCIS.

Closing: The strongest takeaway is the order and the purpose: PERM exists to prove the job can’t be filled locally at the prevailing wage and that hiring a foreign worker won’t harm U.S. workers—then, after DOL approval, the case can move forward to USCIS.