What PERM actually is
PERM is a test of the U.S. labor market, run by the Department of Labor before USCIS ever sees the case. The employer must obtain a prevailing wage determination, run a prescribed recruitment campaign, and be able to show that no able, willing, qualified and available U.S. worker applied.
That is a real process with real recordkeeping, and it can be audited. It is also why the same person often prefers EB-2 NIW: the waiver exists precisely to remove this step.
The sequence, in order
Nothing here can be reordered:
- Prevailing wage determination. The DOL sets the wage floor for the role in that location.
- Recruitment. Prescribed advertising, with mandatory steps and mandatory waiting periods.
- ETA Form 9089. The labor certification itself, filed by the employer.
- Form I-140. Only after certification does the immigrant petition go to USCIS.
- Adjustment or consular processing, when a visa number is available for your category and country of birth.
Whose case this is
The petitioner is the company, the recruitment obligations are the company's, and the audit exposure is the company's. If you are an individual weighing options, that alone is worth knowing before you start: in this category you are not the client of the process, your employer is.