PERM labor certification is the foundation of most employment-based green cards — a process where a single technical mistake can cost an employer and employee a year or more.
PERM tests the U.S. labor market. The employer must prove that no able, willing, qualified and available U.S. worker applied for the position.
The employer must offer a bona fide permanent position and have the ability to pay the offered wage from the priority date onward.
The requirements must be normal for the occupation and actually used by the employer — inflated or tailored requirements are the leading cause of audits and denials.
A prescribed sequence of recruitment steps, each properly timed, documented and evaluated.
The employee must meet every stated requirement — with the education and experience earned before joining the sponsoring employer, subject to limited exceptions.
Every PERM file is assembled as if an audit is certain.
Our firm has managed PERM programs for employers since the program began — including high-volume consulting-industry programs and the audits and denials other firms send us.
We draft duties and requirements that reflect the real job, fit the occupation’s norms and avoid the drafting traps that trigger audits and technical denials.
Every step is calendared, documented and reviewed. Applicant evaluations are recorded lawfully and contemporaneously.
We litigate PERM reconsideration requests and BALCA appeals — so we know exactly which drafting choices produce denials, and we design them out.
Understanding where cases go wrong is the first step in preparing one that doesn’t.
DOL audits examine recruitment, requirements and applicant handling. An audit-ready file turns a months-long ordeal into a document production.
ETA-9089 traps — internal inconsistencies, requirement mismatches and section errors — produce denials that have nothing to do with the merits. Precision is the only defense.
Layoffs in the occupation within six months trigger additional notification and consideration obligations that must be handled before filing.
Requiring experience the employee gained in the same role with the sponsoring employer invalidates the case unless a recognized exception applies.
A well-run PERM case follows a strict sequence — and the calendar is unforgiving.
Position analysis, requirement design, employee qualification review and layoff screening before anything is filed.
The PWD request is filed with the Department of Labor and the wage strategy is confirmed.
Mandatory and professional-occupation recruitment steps are run, documented and evaluated within the regulatory windows.
The application is prepared, cross-checked against every recruitment document and filed with DOL.
Certified cases move forward; audited cases receive a complete, organized response from the file we built for exactly this purpose.
The immigrant petition is filed with ability-to-pay and qualification evidence, followed by I-485 adjustment or consular processing when the priority date is current.
Prevailing wage determinations and PERM adjudication times fluctuate; the certification phase alone commonly takes a year or more before the I-140 is even filed. Starting early — well before H-1B year five — protects extension rights.
The employer must pay the costs of the PERM process, including attorney fees and recruitment costs for the labor certification phase. This is a regulatory requirement, not a negotiating point.
After the I-485 has been pending 180 days, AC21 portability may allow a move to a same-or-similar occupation. Before that point, timing a job change requires careful analysis.
The employer produces the recruitment file and responds to DOL’s specific questions. Because we build every file to audit standard from the start, an audit becomes a production exercise rather than a crisis.
Options include a request for reconsideration, a BALCA appeal or a corrected re-filing. Our firm handles PERM reconsideration briefs — including recurring technical denial grounds — as part of its regular practice.
The employee must intend to work in the offered position when the green card is approved, but the priority date is retained even if the process later restarts with a new employer — one more reason to file sooner rather than later.
PERM is a process business. Our systems — intake, calendaring, recruitment tracking and audit-ready files — are what employers hire us for.
The Law Offices of Keshab Raj Seadie, P.C. has practiced U.S. immigration law exclusively since 1999.
Thousands of labor certifications managed since the PERM program’s inception, including audits, reconsiderations and BALCA appeals.
Extensive experience responding to RFEs, NOIDs, denials, audits and government challenges in this category.
We consider how today’s filing affects your future extensions, employment changes and permanent residence.
Tell us about your situation. Our team can review the information you provide and identify whether PERM — or an alternative strategy — may warrant further evaluation.
