If you file PERM cases, or you're waiting on one, you've probably heard that DOL is rewriting the PERM rules. Here's what DOL itself has said about the proposal, where it sits in federal review, and what it changes for a case today, which is nothing.
The proposal's status on October 16, 2026
The Federal Register holds no document under RIN 1205-AC29. The draft proposed rule is with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which received it on September 14, 2026. There's no proposed text to read and no comment period open yet.
Where it stands
Listed in the Unified Agenda: done
DOL's entry on reginfo.gov names the rule "Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program", at the proposed rule stage, under 20 CFR 656. Its timetable listed the proposal for July 2026.
Review at OIRA: under way
OIRA's own list of rules under review, run on October 16, 2026, shows RIN 1205-AC29 received on September 14, 2026, stage "Proposed Rule". It isn't on OIRA's lists of completed reviews.
Published as a proposed rule: not yet
When it's published, the Federal Register notice will carry the proposed text and the comment deadline.
Comments, then a final rule: later
DOL has to consider the comments before it can publish a final rule, and only a final rule changes 20 CFR 656. The final rule sets its own effective date.
What DOL says it covers
The agenda entry is a summary, and it's the only official description so far. It says DOL "will seek to modernize the standards and procedures by which the Department receives and reviews employers' applications for permanent labor certification", and names four areas. Here's each one beside the rule that governs it today.
| Area the agenda names | In its words | The rule today |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment | "improving the minimum standards for recruiting qualified U.S. workers" | 20 CFR 656.17(e): a job order and two print ads, plus three additional steps for a professional job; 656.10(d): the notice of filing |
| Layoffs | "strengthening safeguards for U.S. Workers impacted by layoffs" | 20 CFR 656.17(k): a layoff in the area and occupation within 6 months of filing means notifying and considering the laid-off workers |
| Fair recruitment and hiring | "non-discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices" | 20 CFR 656.10(c): the employer attests the job is open to any U.S. worker and that applicants were rejected for lawful, job-related reasons |
| Records | "record retention requirements" | 20 CFR 656.10(f): keep the application and its supporting documents for 5 years from filing |
The entry also gives DOL's reason: the PERM regulations haven't been comprehensively revised since 2004, and technology has changed how employers recruit since then. It lists the legal authority as 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(A) and 1182(p)(1), and DOL's priority as "Other Significant".
What nobody knows yet
The agenda entry doesn't say which recruitment steps would change, whether print advertising stays, how a layoff would be defined, how long records would be kept, or whether a final rule would reach cases already filed. Until the proposed text is published, any detail past those four areas is a guess, and we won't add one.
A different proposal that's easy to confuse with it
DOL published a separate PERM proposal on March 27, 2026: "Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States" (RIN 1205-AC30, 91 FR 15454). That one would change how the four prevailing wage levels are computed for PERM and for H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 labor condition applications. Its comment period closed on May 26, 2026, and no final rule has been published. It's about wages; RIN 1205-AC29 is about the labor market test.
| RIN 1205-AC29 | RIN 1205-AC30 | |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Recruitment, layoffs, fair hiring, records | Prevailing wage levels |
| Proposed rule published | Not yet | March 27, 2026 |
| Comments | Not open yet | Closed May 26, 2026 |
| In force | No | No |
What it means for a case today
Nothing changes until a final rule takes effect. A PERM filed now is judged under 20 CFR 656 as it reads today: a filing at least 30 days after the last mandatory recruitment step and within 180 days of the first (20 CFR 656.17(e)), the layoff look-back in 656.17(k), and the records kept under 656.10(f). Planning recruitment around a rule nobody has read yet would be planning around a guess. The attorney on the case is the person to ask how a final rule might touch a specific filing.
How to follow it
- The policy changes page lists Federal Register documents on these programs as they're published, with comment deadlines and effective dates. That's the place to watch for this proposal.
- The deadline calculator works the current recruitment and filing dates for any case.
- For how a layoff affects a case under today's rule, see employer layoffs and your PERM, and for the recruitment steps themselves, the recruitment checklist.
Sources
- DOL's Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1205-AC29, reginfo.gov, read October 16, 2026.
- OIRA's list of regulatory actions under EO 12866 review, reginfo.gov, run date October 16, 2026.
- Federal Register search for RIN 1205-AC29 (no documents) and the RIN 1205-AC30 proposed rule, 91 FR 15454, read October 16, 2026.
- 20 CFR 656.10 and 656.17 on the eCFR, current to October 15, 2026.
