Business Standard ·
US to overhaul PERM green card process: What Indian workers need to know
Once the proposal is published in the Federal Register, DOL will accept public comments for 30 or 60 days.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has moved ahead with plans to overhaul the PERM labour certification process, a key step in many employer-sponsored green card applications, potentially bringing the first major changes to the system in more than two decades.
However, there is an important caveat for foreign workers planning their US immigration: no new PERM rules are in force yet.
The proposed regulation, titled “Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program,” is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The US government's regulatory database shows that the proposal entered OMB review on September 14, 2026.
Immigration law firm Fragomen said on September 15 that the DOL has begun the process of proposing the new regulation, but that the details will remain confidential until the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
What is PERM and why does it matter?