Green Card Job Rule Clears White House Review: What Applicants Should Know

If you are waiting on an employment-based green card, you may have seen news about a major change to the PERM process. PERM is the labor certification step that most employer-sponsored green cards in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories need before an employer can file an immigrant petition for a worker. Bloomberg Law reported today that the Labor Department's proposed overhaul of PERM has cleared the White House. The proposal was sent to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on September 14, 2026. That office reviews major federal rules before they are published, so finishing that review is an important step. But it does not make the rule final. What the proposal covers: according to the Labor Department's own description, the rule would revise the minimum standards for recruiting U.S. workers, strengthen protections for U.S. workers in layoffs, and tighten rules on employer non-discrimination during recruitment and hiring. The full text had not been made public as of mid-October, according to tracking services that follow the rule. What happens next: the proposal still has to appear in the Federal Register, the official government publication for new rules. Once it does, the Labor Department will accept public comments for either 30 or 60 days. The exact deadline will be printed in that notice. After comments are reviewed, the department would publish a final rule, and only that final rule would set an effective date. No effective date has been announced. What this means for you: if your employer has already filed a PERM application, this proposal does not change the rules that apply to your case today. Current PERM rules still apply to new filings. Please do not delay or change any plans based only on news reports. Keep your PERM and I-140 papers in a safe place, and ask your employer's immigration lawyer how any future change could affect your timeline. There is also a separate PERM development to know about. On October 8, 2026, officials announced that the Labor Department would stop accepting new PERM applications and stop processing pending ones for several large technology and IT services companies. Officials did not announce a fixed end date. A suspended application is not the same as a denied one, but it can cause long delays. If your employer is one of the companies named, talk to an immigration attorney soon. What to watch for: check the Federal Register for the proposed PERM notice, read the comment deadline carefully, and watch for any update from the Labor Department itself. If you plan to start a PERM case, or your case is already in progress, a qualified immigration attorney can review your situation and explain your options. Bottom line: the PERM overhaul has moved one step closer to publication, but it is still a proposal. For now, the existing rules apply. We will update this story when the proposed rule is published. This article is general information, not legal advice. Sources: DOL Advances Rule Overhauling Program to Sponsor Foreign Workers (Bloomberg Law): https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/dol-advances-rule-overhauling-program-to-sponsor-foreign-workers DOL's proposed PERM rule: what it covers and where it stands (PERM Tracker): https://permtracker.app/blog/proposed-perm-rule-rin-1205-ac29 United States: DOL to Propose PERM Program Changes (Fragomen): https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-dol-to-propose-perm-program-changes.html DOL Announces PERM Processing Suspensions for Major Technology Companies (Greenberg Traurig): https://www.gtlaw-insidebusinessimmigration.com/perm/dol-announces-perm-processing-suspensions-for-major-technology-companies/ Photo: Anastassia Anufrieva on Unsplash