PERM Labor Certification Rule Change: Will the First Step of Your Employer-Sponsored Green Card Get Harder? (Rule Tracker)

Current status (September 25, 2026): The Department of Labor (DOL) wants to change the PERM recruitment rules. The draft went to the White House for review on September 14, and as of today its status is still "Pending Review" (White House review record). The draft has not appeared in the Federal Register, so its contents can't be seen yet. If you are doing PERM right now, not a single rule has changed.

First, two terms:

• PERM: The step where your employer proves to DOL that it "can't find a qualified American" for the job. It is the first hurdle in employment-based immigration. What you get when it's approved is the labor certification.
• OIRA: The White House office that reviews new regulations. A new rule from a federal agency generally has to clear this office before it can be published.

This page tracks one rule only: RIN 1205-AC29. A RIN is the ID number the government assigns to each rule, and it stays the same from draft to final version. When there is real progress, we update the "Current status" above and the timeline below.

First, don't confuse this with the wage rule from March.

The March rule would raise the wage standards for PERM and H-1B. Its number is RIN 1205-AC30. That proposed rule was published on March 27, 2026, and the comment period closed on May 26. In the 2026 Unified Agenda, it has already moved to the "final rule" stage. The Unified Agenda is the list the government publishes twice a year of "which regulations we plan to change."

The rule we are tracking deals with recruitment and protecting US workers. The agenda summary says nothing about wages.

Both rules amend the same part of the regulations, the core PERM rules. But they have different numbers and are at different stages.

What does this rule change?

The text is not public yet. While the White House is reviewing it, the draft is kept confidential. All we can see right now is a short summary in the Unified Agenda. The most important sentence reads:

"…by improving the minimum standards for recruiting qualified U.S. workers, strengthening safeguards for U.S. Workers impacted by layoffs, and enhancing employer compliance with program requirements related to non-discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices, and record retention requirements."

In plain terms, the summary names four things:

• A higher recruitment bar: This is the PERM step where the employer "runs ads and sees whether any qualified Americans apply," known in the trade as the labor market test. The summary doesn't say how the bar will be raised or whether newspaper ads will still be required.
• More protection for laid-off US workers: Under current rules, if the employer laid people off within 6 months before filing, it must first notify those workers. The summary doesn't say whether the 6-month window or the scope will change.
• No discrimination in hiring: Employers' compliance obligations in this area will be tightened.
• Record keeping: Currently, records must be kept for 5 years. The summary doesn't say whether that will change.

Why the change? The summary says the regulations governing the PERM process "have not been comprehensively modified since 2004." Technology and industry practices have changed since then, especially the ways companies recruit. After the update, the goal is that only "employers experiencing true shortages of high-skilled labor" can use this path.

Some people online claim the rule will "eliminate newspaper ads," "move to online-only recruiting" or "raise wages." None of these appear in the summary, and we can't find a source for them. Once the text is published, we'll check each point.

How does PERM recruitment work today?

Here are the current rules for the record, so we can compare them line by line once the text comes out. The recruitment rules for professional positions have not changed since 2021.

• Two mandatory steps: First, post the job with the State Workforce Agency (each state's government employment office) for 30 days. Second, run an ad in an appropriate local newspaper on two Sundays. For positions that require an advanced degree and experience, one ad in a professional journal can replace one of the Sunday ads. Both steps must be completed within 30 to 180 days before filing.
• Three more of your choice: Choose three of ten options, such as the company website, job search websites, campus recruiting, job fairs, trade or professional organizations, private recruiters, and employee referral programs with incentives.
• Internal notice: Post the notice at the worksite for 10 consecutive business days, and also publish it through the company's in-house media, with the wage stated. This must also fall within 30 to 180 days before filing.
• Layoffs: If, within 6 months before filing, the company laid off workers in the same area in the same or a related occupation, it must show that it notified and considered every potentially qualified laid-off worker.
• Wages: The employer first requests a prevailing wage determination (PWD) from DOL, which is the wage floor DOL sets for the position. The wage in ads and notices can't be lower than that. The rule that changes wages is the March rule, not this one.
• Record keeping: The application and all supporting documents must be kept for 5 years.

Timeline

1. 2004-12-27: The current PERM system was finalized and published in the Federal Register (the government's official journal for new rules), taking effect on March 28, 2005. When the summary says "not been comprehensively modified since 2004," this is the rule it means (Federal Register)
2. 2007-05-17: DOL issued an anti-fraud rule: labor certifications can't be transferred to another person, must be used within 180 days of approval, and all PERM costs must be paid by the employer. The recruitment steps were not changed (Federal Register)
3. 2023-12-21: DOL requested public input on whether to add STEM and other occupations to Schedule A. Schedule A is a list of occupations that don't require a recruitment test. On February 15, 2024, the deadline was extended to May 13. Since then, no new documents on this have appeared in the Federal Register (Federal Register)
4. 2026-03-27: The wage rule was published as a proposed rule, with comments due by May 26 (Federal Register)
5. 2026-08-14: The 2026 Unified Agenda was released. The rule we are tracking appeared on the list for the first time, at the proposed rule stage. The list gave a target of July 2026 for the proposed rule, a date that had already passed by the time the agenda came out. The agenda labeled it "Other Significant," meaning important, but not at the level of "major economic impact" (agenda entry; Federal Register introduction to the agenda)
6. 2026-09-14: The draft was sent to OIRA. The White House labeled it a rule with major economic impact (Economically Significant: Yes), one level higher than in the agenda. That usually means the changes are substantial (OIRA review record)
7. 2026-09-25: Review has been going on for 11 days and isn't finished. No outside group has met with OIRA about this rule; the meeting record shows 0. It is not in the Federal Register. Each day the Federal Register posts the documents scheduled to be published the next day, called the "public inspection" list, and it isn't on today's list either (OIRA meeting records)

Sources we checked

How does this affect you?

You don't need to do anything right now. This rule has not been issued. Even when it is, it will only be a proposed rule: the public gets to comment first, then a final rule comes out, and only the final rule takes effect. Any PERM case in progress today follows the current rules.

• If you haven't started PERM yet: Start as usual. There's no need to rush ahead of the new rule, and no need to wait for it. With no text to read, we don't know when a new rule would take effect or how cases already in recruitment would be handled. But keep in mind: the summary points toward a higher recruitment bar and more protection for laid-off workers. If the rule goes that way, PERM will only get harder, not easier.
• If your PERM is in recruitment, or already filed and pending: Recruitment completed under the current rules won't be voided by a draft that hasn't even been published. A proposed rule has no legal effect. A final rule usually includes transition provisions, and we'll check them against the text when it comes out.
• If your I-140 is approved and you're waiting on the visa bulletin: This rule changes the process of applying for a labor certification. The summary doesn't mention labor certifications or I-140s that are already approved. Your priority date keeps its place in line as usual.

What to watch next

1. OIRA finishes its review: The review record will show a conclusion date and outcome, usually "Consistent with Change," meaning approved after revisions. Under White House rules (Executive Order 12866), review generally takes no more than 90 days, though it can be extended. For reference: the wage rule's draft was sent for review on December 17, 2025, and cleared on February 20, 2026, after 65 days; it appeared in the Federal Register 35 days later.
2. It shows up on the public inspection list: This usually happens one business day before official publication. At that point the text becomes public, and we'll compare it point by point with the current rules above.
3. Comment deadline: The proposed rule will state a deadline, usually 30 to 60 days. Anyone can submit comments at regulations.gov.
4. The wage rule is finalized: If both rules land together, PERM recruitment and wages will change at the same time, so they're worth reading side by side.
5. Withdrawal: If the rule is withdrawn, the OIRA record will show "Withdrawn."

Related articles

• Can You Still Get PERM Done in 2026? For the First Green Card Step, Employer Support, DOL Approval and Wait Time Are Three Different Things
• PERM Labor Certification Timeline Calculator
• EB-3 Final Action Dates Catch Up to EB-2 Dates for Filing: Should You Downgrade Now, and the Trap of Not Being Able to Switch Back After Changing Jobs
• New H-1B Rule Looks at Company Layoffs: Will Your Extension, Job Change or Green Card Be Affected?
• H-1B Reform Rule (RIN 1615-AD00) Progress Tracker

Sources:

• Both rules amend 20 CFR 656 (the core PERM regulations); the legal basis for this rule is Section 212(a)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
• Current recruitment rules: 20 CFR 656.17(e); 6-month layoff rule: 656.17(k); internal notice: 656.10(d); 5-year record keeping: 656.10(f); wages: 656.40
• 2004 PERM final rule: 69 FR 77326
• 2007 anti-fraud rule: 72 FR 27904
• 2023 Schedule A request for information: RIN 1205-AC16, 88 FR 88290
• March wage proposed rule (RIN 1205-AC30): 91 FR 15454
• 2026 Unified Agenda introduction: Federal Register document number 2026-16603; 2026 DOL agenda printed in the Federal Register: document number 2026-16599
• Review time limit: Executive Order 12866

This article is for reference only and does not constitute legal advice.