The United States has moved a proposed overhaul of the labour-certification process for employer-sponsored green cards closer to public release.
On 23 October, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs concluded its review of a Department of Labor proposal titled Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program. The official record describes the outcome as “consistent with change”.
The Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) programme is the first stage in many employer-sponsored green-card cases, particularly in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. The Labor Department says its existing regulations have not been comprehensively updated since the programme began in the mid-2000s.
What the department intends
The department’s regulatory agenda identifies four areas: updated recruitment requirements for testing the US labour market, stronger protections for US workers affected by layoffs, better employer compliance with nondiscrimination rules, and improved record retention.
Who could be affected
For Nepali professionals, the proposal matters mainly where a standard EB-2 or EB-3 case requires PERM, such as an H-1B worker or a former F-1 student whose employer sponsors them for permanent residency. Possible effects include more recruitment and documentation work for employers, and closer scrutiny of firms that have recently laid off staff. Smaller employers with limited immigration-law resources may find compliance harder.
An approved EB-2 National Interest Waiver bypasses labour certification, though applicants must still meet USCIS criteria. EB-1 and EB-5 categories, family-sponsored green cards and existing temporary visas are not directly affected. The proposal does not cancel an approved green card or change F-1 or H-1B status.
Visa availability is a separate issue
Chargeability is generally determined by country of birth, so Nepal-born applicants normally fall under the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column of the Visa Bulletin. The November 2026 bulletin lists EB-2 final action at 1 April 2025 and EB-3 at 15 June 2024. EB-1 is current. Nepal has no separate cut-off, but applicants may still wait because demand exceeds available visa numbers.
Existing delays
The Labor Department’s dashboard, updated in October, reports an average of 336 calendar days for PERM analyst review of August 2026 determinations. That figure covers only one stage and is not the total time to a green card.
A separate wage proposal
A separate Labor Department rule is published on 27 March, Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States. That rule concerns prevailing-wage methodology for some PERM jobs and temporary programmes including H-1B.
