Most of a PERM's paperwork is never filed. It's kept, and produced if DOL asks. The I-140 and the I-485 are the opposite: everything goes in with the form. This checklist runs stage by stage. For each item, it says whether that item is filed, kept or both. PERM Tracker's free green card timeline dates each stage from today's DOL and USCIS figures and lists its government fees.
Keep everything for five years
20 CFR 656.10(f) requires the employer to retain the PERM's supporting documentation for five years from the filing date. An audit, a supervised recruitment order, or an investigation can call for any of it.
Stage 1: the prevailing wage request (ETA-9141)
The employer files it, and the worker sends nothing.
- The job title, duties, and minimum education and experience requirements as they'll appear on the PERM.
- The worksite address, or every worksite if there are several.
- Any special requirements (languages, licences, travel) and whether they're normal for the occupation.
- The employer's own wage survey, if it wants one used instead of OEWS.
DOL sends back the determination, with its own validity window. The validity calculator gives the date it expires.
Stage 2: recruitment (kept by the employer)
The employer runs the steps and keeps the proof. This is the audit file.
| Item | Rule | Kept or filed |
|---|---|---|
| State workforce agency job order, 30 days | 20 CFR 656.17(e) | Kept: the posting and its dates |
| Two Sunday newspaper advertisements | 20 CFR 656.17(e) | Kept: tear sheets or the publisher's proof |
| Notice of filing at the worksite, 10 business days | 20 CFR 656.10(d) | Kept: the notice with posting dates |
| Three additional steps for professional jobs | 20 CFR 656.17(e)(1)(ii) | Kept: proof of each |
| Every résumé received and the reason each U.S. applicant wasn't hired | 20 CFR 656.10(f), 656.17(g) | Kept |
| The recruitment report, signed | 20 CFR 656.17(g) | Kept, and produced on audit |
| Layoff notification records, if there was a layoff inside six months | 20 CFR 656.17(k) | Kept |
The recruitment checklist walks the steps in order, and the deadline calculator fixes the dates.
Stage 3: the PERM itself (ETA-9089)
The employer files it through FLAG. The form asks for the worker's education and experience, and the worker supplies the proof to the attorney even though it isn't attached at filing.
- Degrees and transcripts, with an evaluation if the degree is foreign.
- Experience letters from previous employers, on letterhead, stating dates, title and duties. The experience that qualifies has to be with a different employer or in a substantially different job.
- Licences or certifications the job requires.
- The employer's federal employer identification number and its number of employees.
Stage 4: the I-140
The employer files it with USCIS, with everything attached.
- The certified ETA-9089, original, signed by the worker and the employer.
- Proof of the employer's ability to pay the offered wage from the priority date on: annual reports, federal tax returns or audited financial statements, under 8 CFR 204.5(g)(2). Payroll records if the worker is already employed at the wage.
- The worker's degrees, evaluations and experience letters, matching the ETA-9089 line by line.
- The filing fee and the asylum program fee, and the I-907 if premium processing is requested. The fees calculator prices the set.
- Form G-28 for the attorney.
Stage 5: the I-485, when the priority date is current
Each applicant files one, the principal and each family member alike.
- Form I-485 with the fee, and two passport photos.
- The I-140 approval notice, or proof it's pending if filing concurrently.
- A job offer letter confirming the position is still open at the offered wage, or Supplement J.
- Birth certificate, passport, current and past I-94s, every I-797 for the current status, and marriage certificate for a spouse.
- Form I-693, the medical exam, sealed by the civil surgeon. The I-693 guide covers its validity.
- Form I-765 for a work permit and I-131 for advance parole, each with its own fee since April 2024.
- Form I-944 is no longer required. The public charge questions are on the I-485 itself.
What this checklist can't tell you
It can't tell you what your case needs beyond the standard set, which form editions and fees are current, or whether an experience letter will satisfy USCIS.
- What your specific case needs beyond the standard set. A request for evidence lists that, and the attorney reads it.
- The current forms and fees. USCIS changes editions, so check the form's own page for the edition date before filing. The fee schedule prints the edition it was read from.
- Whether an experience letter will satisfy USCIS. The letter has to match the ETA-9089, and the attorney who wrote the PERM knows what it says.
