PERM Overhaul Reaches White House, Why NRIs Should Watch It!

The US Department of Labor has taken a major step toward changing the PERM green card process, a development that could have a significant impact on thousands of Indian professionals working in the US. The proposed changes have now been sent to the White House for review.

The proposal seeks to overhaul the permanent labor certification process, known as PERM. This process is important for many foreign workers, including Indians on H-1B visas, who are seeking employment-based green cards through their employers.

Under the current system, employers have to show that there are no qualified, willing and available US workers for a particular position before sponsoring a foreign worker for a green card.

They also have to follow specific recruitment and wage requirements.

The Labor Department says the PERM rules need to be modernised because the way companies recruit and hire workers has changed significantly since the rules were last comprehensively updated in 2004.

The proposed overhaul reportedly focuses on strengthening recruitment of American workers, protecting workers affected by layoffs, preventing discriminatory hiring practices and improving employer record-keeping.

The proposal has now reached the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the White House. It has been classified as “economically significant,” making this a closely watched development.

However, the actual proposed rule has not yet been made public. That means it is still too early to know exactly how the new PERM requirements will affect Indian H-1B workers and their green card applications.

Once the proposal is officially released, the biggest point to watch will be how the new recruitment requirements change the process for employers sponsoring foreign workers.