PERM labor certification

DOL says a permanent labor certification allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States. Before granting it, DOL must find that there are not sufficient US workers who are able, willing, qualified and available for the job, and that employing the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.

The application is Form ETA-9089, filed online in DOL's Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG). Once certified, the employer files Form I-140 with USCIS. USCIS says the certification expires 180 days after it is granted if it is not used.

1. FLAG account: the employer registers with Login.gov and creates a FLAG account.
2. Prevailing wage: the employer requests a prevailing wage determination from DOL's National Prevailing Wage Center.
3. Recruitment: for professional jobs, 20 CFR 656.17 requires a 30-day job order with the state workforce agency and advertisements on two different Sundays in a newspaper of general circulation, carried out at least 30 and no more than 180 days before filing, plus further recruitment steps.
4. Notice of filing: posted at the workplace for at least 10 consecutive business days, between 30 and 180 days before filing, under 20 CFR 656.10.
5. File Form ETA-9089 in FLAG. The filing date becomes the worker's priority date.
6. I-140 within 180 days of certification.

DOL publishes processing times on FLAG. As of October 21, 2026 it was working on analyst reviews of applications with priority dates in January 2026, and reported an average of 336 calendar days for analyst review in August 2026. Prevailing wage requests for PERM, as of September 30, 2026, were being processed from June 2026. Recruitment adds months before filing, and after the I-140 you may still wait for a visa number under the Visa Bulletin.

DOL has listed professional nurses and physical therapists on Schedule A, meaning it has already decided there are not enough US workers. Under 20 CFR 656.15, their employers file the labor certification application directly with USCIS as part of the I-140, with a prevailing wage determination and notice of filing but without recruitment. The same rule says applications for professional nurses and physical therapists may be made only under Schedule A, not through the basic PERM process.

Doctors and other health professionals not on Schedule A usually need PERM if an employer sponsors them for a green card, unless they qualify for a National Interest Waiver.

• Audits, which add months; DOL listed audit reviews at December 2025 priority dates in October 2026.
• Recruitment timing errors, such as ads outside the 30 to 180 day window.
• Letting the 180-day certification lapse before the I-140 is filed.