Skilled foreign workers hoping to get a US Green Card may face another hurdle if a proposed labour rule moves forward.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has placed a new proposal on its regulatory agenda that could change how companies sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency.
The proposal focuses on the PERM labour certification process, a key step for most employment-based Green Card applications.
If the changes are introduced, employers could face stricter recruitment requirements, more checks and additional paperwork before sponsoring foreign workers.
Why Is the PERM Process So Important?
PERM labour certification is required for most employment-based immigrants seeking permanent residency in the US.
It is particularly important for foreign students who study in the US, later move to an H-1B job and eventually seek employer sponsorship for a Green Card.
However, the process can already take years.
The initial prevailing wage determination can take around three to eight months. Employers then have to complete a recruitment process that generally lasts at least 60 days.
PERM processing can take even longer.
According to the Department of Labor, PERM applications going through analyst review currently take an average of around 403 days, while applications under audit review take about 290 days.
The proposed changes could add further requirements to an already lengthy process.
What Is the US Government Planning to Change?
The Labor Department says it wants to modernise the PERM system and make it better suited to today’s job market.
One focus will be improving the minimum standards employers must follow when recruiting US workers.
The department also wants stronger protections for US workers who have recently been laid off.
Employers could face greater scrutiny over whether their recruitment and hiring practices are fair and non-discriminatory.
Companies may also have to maintain more detailed records showing how they advertised jobs, considered applicants and followed hiring requirements.
In practice, employers could face more audits, paperwork and compliance checks.
The recruitment process could also increasingly move towards online job platforms instead of traditional methods such as newspaper advertisements.
Why Could the Tech Industry Be Affected?
The proposed changes could be particularly important for the US technology industry, which relies heavily on skilled workers from other countries.
International students make up a large share of graduate students in fields such as computer and information sciences and AI-related areas.
Many of these students eventually move into H-1B jobs after completing their studies.
Some later depend on their employers to sponsor them for permanent residency.
As a result, changes to the PERM system could affect skilled foreign workers who are already studying or working in the US and planning to stay permanently.
Experts Question Some Existing PERM Requirements
Immigration lawyers and researchers have also questioned whether all of the current recruitment requirements are directly required by US immigration law.
Under the existing system, employers generally have to advertise positions and consider qualified US workers before sponsoring a foreign worker.
Critics argue that this process can sometimes create unnecessary delays.
For example, workers may apply for jobs even when an employer already has a particular foreign employee in mind for the position.
Some experts also point out that the labour certification system has changed significantly over the years.
Research cited in reports has also questioned whether restricting highly skilled foreign workers necessarily benefits US-born workers.
One study found that limits on H-1B workers could actually slow job growth for US-born professionals in computer-related fields.
What Could This Mean for Foreign Workers?
The proposed rule does not automatically mean that foreign workers will be denied Green Cards.
Instead, the biggest immediate impact could be on their employers.
Companies may have to spend more time documenting recruitment efforts, responding to audits and proving that they followed all required procedures.
For foreign workers, this could create another hurdle in an already lengthy Green Card process.
It could potentially lead to longer processing times and more uncertainty, particularly for highly skilled workers whose employers are sponsoring them for permanent residency.
The Labor Department says its goal is to ensure that employers facing genuine shortages of highly skilled workers can still access the permanent employment-based immigration system while protecting US workers.
However, the final impact will depend on the details of the rule and how it is ultimately implemented.
