USA
- Job requires
- A master's, or a bachelor's plus five years
- Groups
- Advanced degree, exceptional ability
- Proof
- Degree and experience letters
- Typical jobs
- Engineers, scientists, physicians
- Yearly numbers
- 28.6% of work green cards
- Often faster for
- Most countries
USA
Work
EB-2 and EB-3 Visas: Two green cards, one PERM.
The EB-2 and EB-3 are the green cards a US employer sponsors you for. Both start with PERM, then the I-140, then your green card. The job your employer offers decides which one you're in.
Written by Furkan Dogan·Published October 2026
What is PERM labor certification?
PERM labor certification is the Department of Labor approval a US employer needs before it can sponsor a foreign worker for an EB-2 or EB-3 green card. The employer advertises the job and shows that no qualified US worker is available for it at the prevailing wage, the usual pay for that job and area.
Is PERM for EB-2 or EB-3?
PERM supports both. The category depends on the minimum requirements the employer sets for the job, not on the worker's résumé. A job that requires a master's degree, or a bachelor's plus five years of progressive experience, fits EB-2. A job that requires a bachelor's degree or two years of training fits EB-3.
How long does PERM take?
PERM usually takes a year to a year and a half, from the wage request to approval. The I-140 then takes several months at USCIS, or 15 business days with premium processing. The green card follows once the priority date is current in the Visa Bulletin: months for most countries, many years for India and China.
Can you change jobs during PERM?
A worker who changes employers before the I-140 is approved usually needs the new employer to start PERM again. Once the I-140 has been approved for 180 days, the worker keeps the priority date even if the employer withdraws it. After the green card application has been pending 180 days, the worker can move to a same or similar job.
The short version
What are the EB-2 and EB-3?
The EB-2 and EB-3 are the employer-sponsored green cards: your employer proves the job needs you, and you move from a job offer to permanent residence.
The road has three stages. Your employer gets PERM, the Department of Labor's check that no qualified US worker wants your job, then files the I-140 with USCIS. You then wait for your place in line and file for the green card, inside the US or at a consulate.
40,040
Green cards a year, each
28.6% of the 140,000 minimum
Included
Spouse and children
Children under 21 get green cards too
Employer
Pays for PERM
You cannot be charged for it
5 years
To citizenship
Counted from the green card
The legal rule
Four tests, in the statute.
“(2) Visas shall be made available... to qualified immigrants who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent or who because of their exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business... and whose services... are sought by an employer in the United States. (3)(i) Qualified immigrants who are capable... of performing skilled labor (requiring at least 2 years training or experience)... for which qualified workers are not available in the United States. (ii) Qualified immigrants who hold baccalaureate degrees and who are members of the professions. (iii) Other qualified immigrants who are capable... of performing unskilled labor...”
Paragraph (2) is the EB-2 and paragraph (3) the EB-3. Four tests come out of them:
- 01
“Advanced degrees”, “exceptional ability”
EB-2. A master's or higher, or a bachelor's plus five years of progressive experience. Or expertise well above the usual level, shown with three of six kinds of evidence. The job has to require that level.
- 02
“Skilled”, “baccalaureate”, “unskilled”
EB-3, in three groups: skilled workers for jobs that need two years of training or experience, professionals for jobs that need a bachelor's degree, and other workers for jobs that need less.
- 03
“Sought by an employer”
Both need a US employer. It offers you a permanent, full-time job, files the I-140 petition for you and has to show it can pay the offered wage from the start.
- 04
“Qualified workers are not available”
PERM. Before either petition, your employer proves this to the Department of Labor by advertising the job at the prevailing wage. The same test applies to the EB-2 under section 212(a)(5) of the law.
Purpose & background
Why does
PERM exist?
PERM exists to protect US workers. Before an employer hires someone from abroad for a permanent job, Congress wants proof that no qualified US worker wanted it, and that hiring you won't pull wages down.
What changed over the years is who has to prove it and how. Since 1965 the burden sits with the employer, and since 2005 the test runs online, with fixed recruitment steps.
PERM history, year by year
- 1952
The Immigration and Nationality Act lets the Secretary of Labor turn away foreign workers when US workers are available.
- 1965
Amendments make a labor certification something the immigrant must bring, and the employer carries the burden of proof.
- 1990
The Immigration Act of 1990 creates the EB-2 and EB-3 categories and moves the labor rule to section 212(a)(5)(A).
- 2005
The PERM system starts on March 28, 2005, with set recruitment steps and online filing.
- 2007
A fraud rule bars employers from charging workers for PERM, ends the swap of one worker for another, and limits an approved PERM to 180 days.
The PERM family
The PERM green cards:
EB-2 and EB-3.
PERM sits behind two green card categories. Which one you file in depends on the job your employer offers, and the EB-3 splits into three groups by how much training that job needs.
Which line is yours?
EB-2 vs EB-3: the differences.
Both run through the same PERM, the same I-140 and the same green card filing. What the job requires decides the category, and the category decides which line you wait in.
- Job requires
- A bachelor's, two years of training, or less
- Groups
- Professionals, skilled and other workers
- Proof
- Degree or job letters, if the job asks
- Typical jobs
- Nurses, accountants, technicians
- Yearly numbers
- 28.6%, 10,000 for other workers
- Often faster for
- India and China
Which line moves faster changes with the monthly Visa Bulletin, so check the current final action dates for your country of birth.
PERM stats
PERM
approval rates.
Most PERM applications that reach a decision are certified. The rate has stayed above 94% every year since FY 2021, while the number of decisions has grown.
PERM approval rate
97.6%
of PERM decisions certified in FY 2025
138,093 certified, 3,404 denied
- 96.0%FY 2021, 100,552 certified of 104,693 decided
- 95.4%FY 2022, 94,485 certified of 99,058 decided
- 94.1%FY 2023, 102,286 certified of 108,650 decided
- 95.3%FY 2024, 102,036 certified of 107,067 decided
- 97.6%FY 2025, 138,093 certified of 141,497 decided
Certified as a share of certified and denied PERM applications, by fiscal year, from Department of Labor program statistics; withdrawn applications are left out. A certified PERM still needs an approved I-140, and every case is decided on its own record.
PERM FAQ
Questions, answered.
If recruitment turns up a US applicant who meets the job's minimum requirements and wants the job, the employer cannot file the PERM for that position. The employer can hire that applicant, or close the search and recruit again later. The result does not change the foreign worker's current status, such as an H-1B.
An approved PERM is valid for 180 calendar days. The employer must file the I-140 with USCIS inside that window, or the certification expires and the process starts over. Once an I-140 is filed on time, the same PERM can later support a second I-140 in another category.
Yes. PERM is about the job, not about where the worker is today. A US employer can sponsor a worker who lives abroad, and the green card is then issued through consular processing at a US embassy instead of an adjustment of status inside the US. The worker does not need US work status during PERM.
A PERM belongs to the employer and the job, so it usually ends when the job ends. If the I-140 had been approved for at least 180 days, the worker keeps the priority date for a new employer. An H-1B worker also has a grace period of up to 60 days to find a new sponsor or change status.
Yes, when it can show the ability to pay the offered wage from the priority date on, usually with tax returns, annual reports or audited financial statements. A company whose net income falls short can still qualify by paying the worker at least that wage. A worker who owns part of the company faces closer review.
Yes. An H-1B worker can extend past the six-year limit in one-year steps once 365 days have passed since the PERM or the I-140 was filed. With an approved I-140 and a green card wait caused by the per-country limit, the extensions come in three-year steps instead.
Yes. When the job meets the EB-2 level, the employer can file a second I-140 in EB-3 on the same PERM, with its own fee. The worker keeps the earliest priority date and can use whichever line reaches it first, which is why workers born in India or China sometimes file in both.
Sources
INA §203(b) · INA §212(a)(5)(A) · 20 CFR Part 656 · 8 CFR §204.5 and §205.1 · USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Parts E and F, and Vol. 7, Part A · Department of Labor PERM program and Selected Statistics FY 2021 to FY 2025 · State Department Visa Bulletin · USCIS fee schedule G-1055 (October 16, 2026)
DOL: PERM program · DOL: Processing times · DOL: PERM program statistics · 20 CFR Part 656 · USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part E, Ch. 6 · Visa Bulletin
2–3 years
$12,000–$19,500
Is your job EB-2 or EB-3?
Take the eligibility check. About 3 minutes of questions show which PERM green card fits your job, and what is still missing.