The U.S. government is preparing to revise the rules that govern employment‑based green card sponsorship, after the Department of Labor secured clearance from the Office of Management and Budget. The draft regulation, which targets the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program, will be placed in the Federal Register for a public comment period before a final rule is adopted.
Key points of the proposal include: (1) updated recruitment standards that employers must meet when testing the U.S. labor market; (2) stronger safeguards for American workers who have been laid off; and (3) heightened compliance obligations to ensure non‑discriminatory hiring practices. The advisory from immigration firm Fragomen notes that the changes focus on three major areas and that the specific language of the rule remains confidential until publication. "The proposed regulation focuses on three major areas: recruitment requirements, protections for American workers affected by layoffs, and compliance with federal non‑discrimination rules," the firm said.
What changes are being proposed?
The draft would raise the minimum criteria employers must satisfy when advertising job openings and evaluating U.S. worker availability. It also seeks to tighten rules for cases where layoffs have occurred, requiring employers to demonstrate additional protections for displaced American employees before proceeding with a foreign worker's PERM filing.
How will the public be involved?
Once the regulation appears in the Federal Register, a comment window—expected to last either 30 or 60 days—will open. Employers, immigration attorneys, business groups and other stakeholders can submit written feedback. The Department of Labor will review all submissions before deciding whether to issue a final rule.
When might the new rules take effect?
The proposed requirements will not become operative until the rulemaking process is fully concluded and a final regulation is formally issued. Until then, the existing PERM framework, unchanged since 2005, continues to apply.
Under the current PERM system, employers must prove that there are no sufficient, qualified, willing, and available U.S. workers for a position before they can sponsor a foreign national for permanent employment. This certification is a prerequisite for many employment‑based green card applications, especially those in the EB‑2 and EB‑3 visa categories, which together account for a large share of the annual green card allotment.
If adopted, the revisions could represent the most comprehensive update to the PERM program in over a decade, potentially reshaping how U.S. employers recruit foreign talent and how American workers are protected during layoffs.