The PERM Process

An H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa in the United States; this visa allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations; this is good for 3 years and extendable to 6 years. 


For those who are interested to know about H1B process, click here. For those who are interested in knowing the next steps. Read on.

First Step:  Labor Certification. This is the initial step to most employment-based green card or permanent residency process. Its stated goal is to "protect U.S. workers and the U.S. labor market by ensuring that foreign workers seeking immigrant visa classifications are not displacing equally qualified U.S. workers". 

In 2005, they started using a completely electronic labor certification system, PERM (Program Electronic Review Management). PERM is intended to reduce labor certification times to under 60 days.

Second Step: After receiving the certified Labor Certification from the Department of Labor, the next step is to file an immigrant petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  

The Form I-I40, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker is the form that needs to be completed and filed by the employer. In this form too, the employer will indicate the need to apply for adjustment of status from within the US. 

If the priority date is current (this is the date the labor certification was filed.  This date appears on the cover page of the approved labor certification) and the Form I-I40 gets approved, then we move on to the next step.

Third Step: Filing of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.  This application can only be filed once the priority date is current.  

At the same time,  we can also apply for an Employment Authorization Document. This document will allow applicants to work for their employer while the adjustment of status application is pending.

An Advance Parole document will also be filed to allow traveling outside the US while the adjustment of status application is pending.

But to make all these things happen, the employer should be willing to sponsor and able to pay for the process. A good immigration lawyer helps a lot too!

Please join me in prayer: 

Heavenly Father, today I set my heart and mind on You. I choose to trust that You are working behind the scenes on our behalf. 

Please arrange everything. We believe in your immeasurable, limitless and surpassing greatness of Your favor.

I believe that You will make miracles! To God be the Glory!

Amen.