The White House completed its review of a Department of Labor proposal to overhaul labor certification for employers sponsoring workers for a PERM green card. The review moves the proposal closer to public rulemaking, but the draft’s specific requirements remain undisclosed until publication.
The department sent the proposal to the administration’s Office of Management and Budget in July. The agenda had listed the proposal for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in July 2026.
This is still a proposal. Employers do not yet have new rule text to follow.
Employers sponsoring foreign workers face a proposed test, not a final rule
The rule would apply to employers seeking permanent labor certification for foreign workers. Its stated goals also address U.S. workers whose availability, wages and working conditions are assessed in that process.
The agency’s abstract describes tighter minimum standards for recruiting qualified U.S. workers and stronger safeguards when U.S. workers are affected by layoffs. It also identifies employer compliance with non-discriminatory recruitment and hiring requirements, plus record retention, as targets.
| India | China | ROW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | Feb 01, 2023 | Aug 01, 2023 ▲31d | Current |
| EB-2 | Nov 01, 2013 | Oct 01, 2021 | Apr 01, 2025 ▲90d |
| EB-3 | Jan 22, 2014 ▲21d | Jan 22, 2022 ▲14d | Jun 15, 2024 ▲31d |
| F-1 | Jan 22, 2021 ▲366d | Jan 22, 2021 ▲366d | Jan 22, 2021 ▲366d |
| F-2A | Oct 22, 2026 ▲30d | Oct 22, 2026 ▲30d | Oct 22, 2026 ▲30d |
Those are the agency’s stated objectives, not a published checklist of new obligations. The proposed text will show how the department intends to translate them into rules.
The certification still turns on U.S. worker availability and job conditions
The underlying labor certification test remains centered on whether a qualified U.S. worker is available for the job and whether hiring a foreign national would harm similarly employed U.S. workers. Employers must make a good-faith effort to recruit U.S. workers and show that none who are able, willing, qualified and available took the position.
The Immigration and Nationality Act requires the labor secretary, for most employment-based immigrant admissions, to certify that the foreign worker’s employment will not adversely affect U.S. workers’ wages and working conditions. It also requires a finding that U.S. workers are unavailable for the position.
Current recruitment steps include newspaper and radio advertisements and postings with a state workforce agency. The rules still rely on methods that were in place before widespread use of many current digital hiring tools.
Legal analyses anticipate that the proposal may give more weight to employer career websites, professional networking platforms, internet job boards and other online recruitment. They also expect expanded documentation requirements and closer review of employers that have had layoffs or corporate restructuring. Those are predictions about the proposal, not confirmed provisions in the unpublished draft.
The department’s abstract says PERM regulations have not been comprehensively modified since 2004. It points to advances in technology and shifts in recruitment practices, and says the rulemaking “will result in a labor certification process that better reflects current labor market dynamics.”
The Unified Agenda sets a proposed-rule stage but no legal deadline
The rulemaking is administered by the Employment and Training Administration. Its entry in the Unified Agenda lists the following details:
| Agenda item | Listing |
|---|---|
| Rule identifier | RIN 1205-AC29, its first appearance in the Unified Agenda |
| Stage and priority | Proposed Rule Stage; “Other Significant”; “Major: Undetermined” |
| Regulation | 20 CFR 656 |
| Listed timetable | NPRM listed for 07/00/2026 |
| Legal deadline | None |
| EO 14192 designation | Fully or Partially Exempt |
| Legal authorities | 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(A); 8 U.S.C. 1182(p)(1) |
The abstract cites the Immigration and Nationality Act, including 8 U.S.C. 1101, et seq. The law requires the labor secretary to assess both the effect on similarly employed U.S. workers and whether U.S. workers are available.
Company suspensions have put PERM compliance under a separate spotlight
The administration’s Anti-Fraud Taskforce, led by Vice President J D Vance, has also taken enforcement action involving PERM. Earlier this month, the United States suspended the PERM programs of Microsoft, Adobe and six other technology employers, including Infosys Technologies and Tata Group.
The department cited unspecified alleged violations in announcing the suspensions. Some of the companies are among the largest employers of H-1B workers.
Lynn O’Brien, an immigration attorney at Womble Bond Dickinson, said the suspensions could discourage smaller employers that sponsor only a few green-card workers. She warned that companies without large legal teams or deep pockets could face harm.
“These are the kinds of things that keep immigration attorneys up at night,” she said. “We're damaging U.S. companies who don't have big armies of attorneys or the big pocketbooks of larger organizations”
Barnes & Thornburg has urged employers to review current practices, particularly those involving layoffs, and prepare to adjust recruitment procedures. The firm’s analysis says the eventual effects could reach beyond the stated goal of serving employers with genuine shortages of high-skilled labor.
Publication will open the proposal to public comment
After the proposal appears in the Federal Register, the department is expected to invite public comments for 30 or 60 days. It must consider those comments before issuing a final rule.
Publication alone will not put new requirements into effect. The regulation takes effect only after the comment process and finalization.
