US Gears Up for First Major Overhaul of Green Card Sponsorship Rules in Two Decades

​The United States is moving closer to implementing its most sweeping changes to employment-based green card sponsorship in twenty years.

​A newly proposed regulation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) overhauling the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program has cleared a critical regulatory hurdle after passing review by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

​The clearance paves the way for the formal publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register, marking a long-awaited update to a framework that has not seen a comprehensive revision since 2005.

​What is the PERM Program?

​The PERM framework is the mandatory first step for many foreign professionals seeking permanent residency—particularly under the popular EB-2 and EB-3 immigrant visa categories.

​Under current guidelines, sponsoring employers must thoroughly test the U.S. labor market to legally demonstrate that there are no qualified, willing, or available American workers for a position before a foreign national can be sponsored for a green card.

​Core Focus Areas of the Overhaul

​According to immigration advisories from corporate immigration firm Fragomen, the upcoming regulatory proposal zeroes in on three primary pillars:

• ​Modernized Recruitment Standards: Updating minimum standards for testing the U.S. labor market to align with modern digital recruitment methods, technology, and contemporary hiring practices.

• ​Strengthened Layoff Protections: Imposing stricter criteria and guardrails governing sponsorship and recruitment in environments where American workers have been recently affected by layoffs.

• ​Enhanced Non-Discrimination Compliance: Expanding corporate obligations to guarantee that recruitment workflows strictly adhere to federal fair hiring and non-discrimination mandates.

​Next Steps and Timeline

​While the OMB review is complete, the specific textual provisions of the rule remain confidential and will not be revealed until officially published in the Federal Register.

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​Once published, the proposed rule will trigger a public comment period lasting 30 to 60 days. During this window, employers, immigration attorneys, corporate stakeholders, and impacted workers will have the opportunity to scrutinize the text and submit feedback.

​Immigration experts emphasize that the proposed changes will not take immediate effect. The rule must complete the full administrative rulemaking cycle—including federal review of public comments and the eventual issuance of a final regulation—before any operational shifts apply to ongoing or future green card applications.