The US Department of Labor’s proposed overhaul of PERM labour certification — the labour-market test employers must pass before sponsoring a foreign worker for an EB-2 or EB-3 green card — entered Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review on 14 September 2026, Business Standard reported on 16 September, citing the federal regulatory database. It sits alongside the department’s separate prevailing-wage proposal, published in the Federal Register on 27 March 2026, which would lift the entry-level (Level I) wage floor for H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and PERM positions from the 17th to the 34th percentile of US wage data. By the department’s own estimate that moves the Level I benchmark from $73,279 to $97,746, a rise of 33.39%, and lifts the average certified wage by about $14,000 a year. Neither measure is in force: the wage rule’s comment period closed on 26 May, and the PERM text has not been published.
The wage proposal, titled “Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States”, raises all four tiers: Level II from the 34th to the 52nd percentile (up 24.47%), Level III from the 50th to the 70th (up 20.79%) and Level IV from the 67th to the 88th (up 21.68%), according to the department’s own table. The department says 63% of labour condition applications certified in fiscal 2024 were at Level I or II. The Press Trust of India, in a report carried by Akashvani on 10 May, described the package as a 30 per cent increase; the department itself does not use that figure. The rulemaking was directed by Presidential Proclamation 10973 of 19 September 2025.
The PERM proposal, titled “Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program”, targets a framework last comprehensively revised in 2004. According to the department’s regulatory agenda as reported by Business Standard and the Hindustan Times, it would revise minimum recruitment standards for US workers, strengthen rules on US-worker layoffs and non-discrimination in hiring, and address employer record-keeping. The Hindustan Times noted that Indian professionals make up a significant share of employment-based applicants, and that the proposed reforms do not immediately change the status of existing green-card holders or applicants.
On next steps, Business Standard reported that law firm Fragomen said on 15 September the PERM rule’s details remain confidential until Federal Register publication, after which a 30- or 60-day comment period would follow. For the wage rule, the department’s July regulatory agenda lists it at the final-rule stage with no target date, according to Fragomen; the Akashvani report said the department will examine the public responses and then notify the final rule.
References
Business Standard – US to overhaul PERM green card process: What Indian workers need to know / Federal Register – Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States / Akashvani – US proposes 30% hike in minimum wages under H1B visa programme / Hindustan Times – Why is US changing green card sponsorship rules? PERM overhaul explained / Fragomen – United States: Immigration Agencies Unveil Regulatory Agendas for the Coming Months
