This guide is for the attorney, paralegal or HR lead who builds and keeps a PERM case's audit file. The documents behind a PERM aren't filed with the ETA-9089; they're kept, and an audit gives the employer 30 days to produce them. Here's what the file holds, how long 20 C.F.R. § 656.10(f) (2025) says to keep it, and an index to copy into every case.
Five years from filing, § 656.10(f)
"Copies of applications for permanent employment certification filed with the Department of Labor and all supporting documentation must be retained by the employer for 5 years from the date of filing the Application for Permanent Employment Certification."
The clocks that touch the file
| Clock | Starts | Length | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep the file | The day the ETA-9089 is filed | 5 years | § 656.10(f) |
| Answer an audit | The date on the audit letter | 30 days | § 656.20(a)(2) |
| Extension | Granted by the Certifying Officer, at their discretion | One, of up to 30 days | § 656.20(c) |
| Ask for reconsideration of a denial | The date the denial issues | 30 days | § 656.24(g)(1) |
The last row is the reason the file matters even after an audit is answered. A request for reconsideration may include only documents DOL already received in response to its own request, or documents that existed when the application was filed and were "maintained by the employer to support the application for permanent labor certification in compliance with the requirements of § 656.10(f)" (§ 656.24(g)(2)). A document that wasn't kept can't be offered later.
As a worked example: an application filed on Wednesday, December 30, 2026 is kept through December 30, 2031.
Why an audit can arrive on any case
The regulation keeps the supporting documents out of the filing and has the employer "furnish required supporting documentation prior to a final determination" once DOL says the case is being audited (§ 656.17(a)(3)). Review "may lead to an audit," and "certain applications may be selected randomly for audit and quality control purposes" (§ 656.20(a)). So the file is built the same way for every case, whether or not anything about it looks unusual.
The index
Each line names the document and the rule that calls for it. Print it, or keep it open beside the case folder.
Tab 1: The application
- The filed Form ETA-9089 with every appendix, and the filing confirmation (§ 656.17(a)(1), (c))
- Once certified, the certification signed by the employer: an electronically certified application must be "signed immediately by the employer in order to be valid" (§ 656.17(a)(1))
Tab 2: The wage
- The prevailing wage request (Form ETA-9141) and DOL's determination
- The offered wage as stated on the ETA-9089, and the notice of filing's rate of pay (§ 656.10(c)(1), (d)(4))
Tab 3: Recruitment
- SWA job order: a copy, with its start and end dates (§ 656.17(e)(1)(i)(A))
- Both Sunday ads: the newspaper pages, or proof of publication from the newspaper (§ 656.17(e)(1)(i)(B)(3))
- Professional journal page, if a journal ad replaced one Sunday ad (§ 656.17(e)(1)(i)(B)(4))
- Three additional steps for a professional occupation, each documented the way § 656.17(e)(1)(ii)(A)–(J) describes: dated web pages, fair brochures, placement office notices, referral program memos, the firm's contract, the station's confirmation
- Notice of filing, which runs on its own rule in § 656.10(d) and isn't one of the § 656.17(e) steps: a copy of the posted notice and where it was posted, and copies of every in-house medium used, or the letter and application copy sent to the bargaining representative (§ 656.10(d)(1))
Tab 4: Results
- The signed recruitment report (§ 656.17(g)(1))
- Every resume and application received, sorted by the report's rejection reasons (§ 656.17(g)(1))
- The record of contact with each applicant that supports the report's counts
Tab 5: The job and its requirements
- Position descriptions and payroll records showing the job is permanent and full time (§ 656.3 (defining "employment"))
- Business necessity documentation for any requirement beyond the occupation's norm, any foreign language requirement, and any combination of occupations (§ 656.17(h))
- If the worker already works for the employer: the worker's training and experience when hired, and how the current job differs from the one offered (§ 656.17(i)(3), (i)(5)(ii))
- Hiring records for substantially comparable jobs, showing no one was hired with less training or experience (§ 656.17(i)(2))
Tab 6: Layoffs
- If there was a layoff in the area and occupation within 6 months of filing: how laid-off workers were notified and considered, and the results (§ 656.17(k))
Tab 7: The worker's ownership or family ties
- When the worker has an ownership interest or a family tie, or is one of a small number of employees: formation documents, officers and owners with their relationships, the business's financial history, and who hires (§ 656.17(l)(1)–(4))
- With 10 or fewer employees: any family relationship between the employees and the worker (§ 656.17(l)(5))
Tab 8: Payments
- Fee and cost records, kept for question G.11 on payments to the employer (§ 656.12(b))
Tab 9: Correspondence
- Every letter from DOL and every response, dated
What's changing, and what isn't yet
DOL's Fall 2025 regulatory agenda lists a planned PERM proposal, "Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program" (RIN 1205-AC29), whose summary names record retention among its subjects. As of October 16, 2026, the Federal Register holds no document under that RIN, so none of it has been proposed or put in force. The five-year rule above is today's rule. The policy changes page lists Federal Register documents as they appear.
What this guide can't do
- Say which documents a particular audit letter will ask for. The letter states them (§ 656.20(a)(1)), and it governs.
- Replace the attorney's judgment on the case. This is a working reference and nothing here is legal advice.
Related
- Answering a PERM audit, for the 30-day clock and what happens if it's missed
- The PERM recruitment report, the document Tab 4 is built around
- The PERM notice of filing, for what Tab 3's notice copies should show
- RFIs, audits and appeals, for how many cases sit at each DOL review stage right now
The free case app at PERM Tracker for attorneys keeps each case's recruitment dates and deadlines in one place; the documents themselves stay in the firm's own file.
