Important notice before reading this post: nothing in this article is intended to be legal advice only for educational purposes.
Whenever a company desires to hire foreign professionals for a permanent position in its organization, it may sponsor a person for a Green Card to give them the right to work in the U.S.
As many organizations have realized, sponsoring a foreign worker for an employment-based green card is a great way to keep skilled talent in the country. However, a labor certification called “PERM” should be completed in most cases.
The U.S. Department of Labor must validate this step, and it is mandatory before starting the green card process.
What is the PERM recruitment process?
Starting with the basics:
PERM stands for “Program Electronic Review Management.” It’s a step of the green card application process that tests the labor market to ensure that no American citizens can do the needed work.
The PERM is nothing more than a recruitment campaign with more rules. Therefore, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) manages this process, not the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Our PERM experience
As you all know, we came to the U.S. in 2014 under an E-1 visa employee for me and an E-2 visa employee for Max. After a year and a half of living and working in the country, I quit my job, married Max, and created my own business: UsponsorMe. This changed my visa status from E-1 to E-2D visa.
To make a long story short, not so long ago, we heard that our visas would be obsolete a few months later.
At the time, Max started the Green Card application, and I simultaneously submitted an E-2 investor visa request with my own company. The visa request was denied in early 2018, so we kept putting all our efforts into Max’s first application.
We had to go through the PERM, the first step of the Green Card process, which we started in mid-2017. As mentioned, Max was going to be sponsored by his company, so even though my visa status was in line, only Max and his company had to take over the PERM process.
Read more about our experience from Day 1 here!
PERM process overview
Step 1: Preparing the Job Description and Requirements
The PERM process started with the lawyer working with Max and Max’s CTO to draft a detailed job description and an accurate list of requirements.
Max provided a detailed resume with all his skills and experience learned over his work history. His company provided the exact job description of Max’s position, including all the required skills, work experiences, and strengths necessary for that position.
The lawyer used this information to design the perfect job description for what the company needs precisely, validated by Max’s company. The more distinguishing and distinctive the job ad is, the better.
In contrast, the lawyer requested as well:
- Max’s duties from the CTO.
- Diploma and U.S. equivalence. In this case, the U.S. validated his French Master’s degree as a master’s degree, but it depends on the degree in your home country.
- Years of experience in the field.
All the above was done with the help of the HR assistant and validated by Max and his manager before submitting it to the lawyer.
Step 2: Preparing the Experience Verification Letters (EVLs)
An Experience Verification Letter is a referral letter to prove that the experience and skills mentioned by Max and the company were honest and objective after the job description was finalized. So, the lawyer drafted the Experience Verification Letters Max needed to obtain the signature.
Max was responsible for getting three recommendation letters from people from the last companies he worked for. Considering referrals in his current company was unacceptable, except if it’s a subsidiary.
At least two referrals should be from directors.
Max got three signatures: two referral letters from his former managers in France and one from a former co-worker.
Step 3: Preparing the Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD)
Once they completed the job description and determined the experience requirements, the lawyer drafted a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) application and sent it to Max’s company for review.
The DOL must be contacted to determine the prevailing wage. The employer must pay 100 percent of the prevailing wage when Max attains permanent residency.
After Max’s company approval, the lawyer filled out the PWD request with the DOL.
Although the recruitment process for the position can begin before the PWD is issued, the lawyer strongly recommended that Max’s company wait before starting it.
Step 4: Labor Market Test
In this stage, the lawyer worked with Max’s company to complete the necessary recruitment process. For that, they did a Labor Market Test.
The labor market test involves advertising the job to allow job seekers to apply. The job ads should be visible on an office wall, in a local newspaper, in a company’s employee referral program, on job search engine websites such as Monster.com or Indeed.com, in the State Department of Labor, etc.
It took several months (minimum 10 / 30 days for each posting way).
It’s important to remember that this PERM stage takes time and that you cannot interfere with it.
Step 5: Recruitment Analysis and Preparation of the Final ETA Form 9089
Max’s company HR team needed to review all applicants. They must keep a record of all applicants and maintain each applicant’s resume.
The lawyer found maintaining an applicant tracking spreadsheet helpful for this process.
Applicants who appeared qualified based on their resumes underwent additional screening. If any applicants possess the minimum requirements and are skilled and available for the job, then the PERM may not be approved.
The recruitment process took several weeks. It involved reviewing all of the resumes appropriately. Only Max’s company handled this; according to DOL regulations, the lawyer did not participate in the candidate review process.
We never knew how many candidates have applied for the job ad, if any.
We started the process at the end of June, and the U.S. Department of Labor approved the PERM at the end of May 2018, 11 Months later.
If you are in the same case as us, I know that the processing times can vary depending on whether or not they want to select you for an audit.
The Green Card process through PERM is neither quick nor easy, and it can be tricky for employers. Understandably, the DOL wants to protect the U.S. workforce, and it’s pretty standard!
We are pleased to have received the approval and are ready to complete step 2 of the Green Card process. I will tell you about this in a future post.
Check out our step-by-step guide to get your job in the US!
Are you also in the PERM process right now? Or is that something you and your company plan to do? Share your experience in the comments below!
