EMPLOYMENT GREEN CARDS · THIRD PREFERENCE
EB-3 & PERM Labor Certification Lawyers
The workhorse of employer-sponsored permanent residency.
EB-3 is the third preference employment green card (for skilled workers, professionals, and other workers), and nearly every EB-3 case begins with a PERM labor certification. As your PERM labor certification lawyer, we run the whole process for the sponsoring employer and the green card for the worker, from prevailing wage through ETA-9089 and beyond. Offices in Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and Atlanta, in four languages.
EB-3
SKILLED · PROFESSIONAL · OTHER WORKERS
PERM
PREVAILING WAGE → RECRUITMENT → ETA-9089
Both Sides
EMPLOYER SPONSOR + SPONSORED WORKER
EB-3: skilled workers, professionals, and other workers
EB-3 is the broadest employment green card category, and it covers three groups. Skilled workers fill positions that require at least two years of training or experience. Professionals hold a US bachelor's degree or its foreign equivalent, where the degree is the normal requirement for the job. Other workers perform jobs that need less than two years of training or experience, a group that is often subject to the longest waits because demand is high and numbers are limited.
What nearly all EB-3 cases share is the front-end requirement: before an employer can petition for a worker's green card, it must obtain a PERM labor certification from the Department of Labor. That is where most of the work, and most of the risk, lives.
The PERM labor certification process, in full
PERM is how an employer proves to the Department of Labor that hiring a foreign worker for a permanent position will not displace a qualified US worker or undercut US wages. It is a certification, not a petition: a formal attestation, backed by a documented process, that the employer tested the labor market and no able, willing, qualified US worker was available at the prevailing wage. Here is how it runs.
Prevailing wage determination
The employer files with the Department of Labor to establish the prevailing wage for the position in the specific geographic area. The offered wage must meet or exceed it. Get this wrong and the entire case is exposed, because the wage anchors everything that follows.
Recruitment
The employer runs a structured, regulated recruitment campaign (required newspaper or job-order advertising, internal posting, and, for professional positions, additional recruitment steps) over a defined window. The goal is a genuine test of the US labor market, documented to the letter.
Reviewing US applicants
The employer reviews every US applicant against the job's minimum requirements and lawful, job-related reasons for rejection. Rejecting a qualified US worker for the wrong reason can sink the case. This is one of the most scrutinized steps.
Filing the ETA-9089
If recruitment produces no able, willing, and qualified US applicant, the employer files Form ETA-9089, the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, with the Department of Labor. The application must match the wage determination and the recruitment exactly.
I-140 and the green card
Once the labor certification is approved, the employer files Form I-140, the immigrant petition, with USCIS. When a green card number is available under the visa bulletin, the worker adjusts status in the US on Form I-485 or completes consular processing abroad.
Common PERM audit triggers, and how we avoid them
The Department of Labor can select a PERM application for audit, and certain patterns make an audit far more likely. Knowing them in advance is most of the defense. Common triggers include job requirements that appear tailored to a single foreign worker, requirements that exceed what the position normally needs, foreign language requirements without a clear business justification, a family or ownership relationship between the worker and the employer, layoffs in the same occupation and area, and inconsistencies between the wage determination, the advertisements, and the ETA-9089.
We avoid audits the same way we survive them: by building the file correctly from the first step. That means a defensible prevailing wage, job requirements that reflect the position's actual normal needs, advertisements that match the application word for word, business-necessity documentation where a requirement is unusual, and a clean, reasoned record for every US applicant reviewed. When an audit does come, and sometimes it comes at random, a case built this way responds with a folder, not a scramble.
Red flags that raise audit risk
Requirements that look tailored to one specific worker
Requirements beyond the job's normal needs
Foreign language requirements without business justification
A family or ownership tie between worker and employer
Recent layoffs in the same occupation and area
Mismatches among the wage, the ads, and the ETA-9089
What sponsoring a green card commits an employer to
Sponsoring a worker for an EB-3 green card is a legal commitment, and employers deserve to understand it going in. The employer must genuinely intend to employ the worker in the certified position at the offered wage once the green card is granted, and must be able to demonstrate the ability to pay that wage from the priority date forward, typically through tax returns, audited financials, or payroll records. The employer bears the government filing fees and the recruitment costs that are its legal responsibility under PERM, and it must keep the PERM audit file for the required retention period.
There are consequences for getting it wrong: a poorly run PERM can mean denials, audits, wasted months, and in serious cases exposure to penalties. But sponsorship handled well is one of the most powerful retention tools an employer has: a path that keeps a valued worker lawfully employed and invested for the long term. We represent the employer through every obligation so the sponsorship is an asset, not a liability.
Hiring on temporary work visas too? We coordinate H-1B, L-1, and other nonimmigrant visas with the permanent green card so no worker's status falls into a gap.
EB-2 or EB-3, and how long PERM adds
Some positions can qualify for either EB-2 or EB-3, and the choice affects both the evidence and the wait. EB-2 requires an advanced degree or its equivalent; EB-3 professional requires a bachelor's; EB-3 skilled and other-worker cases require experience or on-the-job training. Both standard EB-2 and EB-3 run through PERM, so the process is largely the same. The difference is the category you land in and, therefore, your place in line.
On timing, PERM adds a front-end stage before the petition is even filed: the prevailing wage determination, the recruitment window, and the Department of Labor's review. After certification, the I-140 and then the wait for a green card number under the visa bulletin follow. The total varies with the position, the category, and your country of birth. We give you a realistic, current timeline at the consultation rather than a number that ages badly on a web page.
If you hold an advanced degree, compare the EB-2 route, including the self-petitioned national interest waiver, on our EB-2 & NIW page.
COMMON QUESTIONS
PERM and EB-3 questions we hear in every consultation
PERM is the process by which a US employer certifies to the Department of Labor that there is no able, willing, qualified, and available US worker for a permanent position at the prevailing wage. It involves a prevailing wage determination, a structured recruitment campaign, and the ETA-9089 application. PERM is the required first stage for standard EB-2 and EB-3 green cards. It is not required for EB-1 or the national interest waiver.
The employer files. PERM is fundamentally the employer's attestation about its own recruitment and wage offer, and the employer bears the government filing fees and the recruitment costs that are its legal responsibility. The worker cannot self-file a PERM. We represent the employer through the process and handle the worker's green card alongside it.
ETA-9089 is the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, the form the employer files with the Department of Labor to request the labor certification after completing the prevailing wage determination and recruitment. It must line up exactly with the wage determination and the advertisements; inconsistencies are a leading cause of audits and denials.
Common triggers include job requirements that look tailored to one worker or exceed the position's normal needs, foreign language requirements without business justification, a family or ownership tie between worker and employer, recent layoffs in the same role and area, and mismatches among the wage, the ads, and the application. You cannot rule out a random audit, but you can dramatically lower the risk, and be ready if one comes, by building a clean, consistent, well-documented file from the first step. That preparation is central to how we run PERM.
EB-3 has three: skilled workers (jobs requiring at least two years of training or experience), professionals (jobs requiring a US bachelor's degree or its foreign equivalent), and other workers (jobs requiring less than two years of training or experience). The "other workers" subcategory often faces the longest waits because demand is high relative to the available numbers.
The employer must genuinely intend to employ the worker in the certified role at the offered wage, must be able to demonstrate the ability to pay that wage from the priority date, must cover the filing and recruitment costs that are its legal responsibility, and must retain the PERM audit file for the required period. Handled correctly, sponsorship is a strong retention tool; handled poorly, it risks denials, audits, and penalties. We guide employers through each obligation.
PERM adds a front-end stage (the prevailing wage determination, the recruitment window, and the Department of Labor's review) before the I-140 petition is filed. After certification and the petition, the wait for a green card number depends on the visa bulletin for EB-3 and your country of birth. Because each of these can shift, we give you a realistic, current timeline for your specific case at the consultation rather than a fixed number.
Yes. Many EB-3 workers are already in the US on a nonimmigrant work visa such as H-1B or L-1 when their employer begins the PERM process. We coordinate the temporary visa and the permanent green card together so the worker's status stays continuous and never falls into a gap while PERM and the petition move forward.
Yes. As a Florida PERM immigration attorney team with offices in Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and Atlanta, we represent sponsoring employers and skilled workers throughout both states and beyond. The same attorneys and the same case file follow the matter, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French.
Attorney fees depend on the position, the complexity of the recruitment, and whether we represent the employer, the worker, or both. Government filing fees and required recruitment costs are separate and, for PERM, are largely the employer's legal responsibility. We scope the full cost at the consultation, a real number before anyone commits, and if you retain us, the consultation fee is credited to your case.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Let's run your PERM the way it should be run.
Schedule a consultation with us. Whether you are an employer sponsoring a worker or a professional being sponsored, we will map the PERM process, flag the audit risks up front, and lay out the real timeline and cost before you commit. If you retain us, the consultation fee is credited to your case.