This guide is for the attorney, paralegal or HR lead who has finished a PERM case's recruitment and now has to write the report. It sets out what 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(g) (2025) asks for, gives a sample to adapt with the citation beside each part, and ends with a checklist to run before the report goes in the file.
The whole rule, § 656.17(g)(1)
The employer must prepare a recruitment report "signed by the employer or the employer's representative noted in § 656.10(b)(2)(ii) describing the recruitment steps undertaken and the results achieved, the number of hires, and, if applicable, the number of U.S. workers rejected, categorized by the lawful job related reasons for such rejections."
What the report has to contain
| Part | What it says | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Signature | Signed by the employer, or by the person who normally interviews or considers applicants for jobs like this one when no labor certification is involved | §§ 656.17(g)(1), 656.10(b)(2)(ii) |
| Steps undertaken | Every § 656.17(e) recruitment step, with its source and dates: the job order, both print ads, and the three additional steps for a professional occupation | § 656.17(e) |
| Notice of filing | Where and when the notice was posted or provided. It sits beside the recruitment steps on its own rule and is never the first step | § 656.10(d) |
| Results achieved | What each step produced: applications or resumes received, by source | § 656.17(g)(1) |
| Hires | How many applicants were hired | § 656.17(g)(1) |
| Rejections | How many U.S. workers were rejected, grouped by each lawful job-related reason | § 656.17(g)(1) |
| Where it goes | Kept in the file and produced if DOL asks. It isn't filed with the ETA-9089 | §§ 656.17(a)(3), 656.10(f) |
Two other lines in the same part of the regulation shape how the report reads.
Who considers the applicants. Under 20 C.F.R. § 656.10(b)(2)(i), the foreign worker and the worker's attorney or agent may not interview or consider U.S. workers for the job, unless that attorney or agent is the employer's representative in the sense of § 656.10(b)(2)(ii): "the person who normally interviews or considers, on behalf of the employer, applicants for job opportunities such as that offered the alien." The report's signer and the person who reviewed the resumes should be that person, and the report can say so.
Training counts. Under § 656.17(g)(2), a U.S. worker is able and qualified if they "can acquire the skills necessary to perform the duties involved in the occupation during a reasonable period of on-the-job training." Rejecting someone for a gap they could close that way isn't a lawful job-related reason. Each rejection reason in the report should tie to a requirement stated on the ETA-9089.
The resumes follow the report. After reading the report, the Certifying Officer "may request the U.S. workers' resumes or applications, sorted by the reasons the workers were rejected" (§ 656.17(g)(1)). Sort the file by the same reasons the report uses, so a request is answered from the folder rather than rebuilt.
A sample report to adapt
Brackets are placeholders. The citations in parentheses are there for whoever reviews the draft; delete them or keep them, as the firm prefers. The structure follows the regulation's own list, in its order.
RECRUITMENT REPORT
[Employer legal business name], FEIN [00-0000000]
Position: [job title as on Form ETA-9089]
SOC code: [00-0000], worksite: [address, city, state]
Prepared on: [date]
1. WHO CONDUCTED THE RECRUITMENT (§ 656.10(b)(2))
[Name], [title], reviewed every application received. [He/She/They] normally interview(s) or consider(s) applicants for positions like this one that don't involve labor certification.
2. RECRUITMENT STEPS UNDERTAKEN (§ 656.17(e))
a. SWA job order: [state agency], order no. [number], [start date] to [end date].
b. Sunday ad 1: [newspaper], [date].
c. Sunday ad 2 [or professional journal]: [name], [date].
d. Additional step 1: [method], [start] to [end].
e. Additional step 2: [method], [start] to [end].
f. Additional step 3: [method], [start] to [end].
3. NOTICE OF FILING (§ 656.10(d))
Posted at [locations] from [start] to [end], and published in [in-house media]. [Or: provided to [bargaining representative] on [date].]
4. RESULTS ACHIEVED (§ 656.17(g)(1))
Applications or resumes received: [total].
From the job order: [n]
From the Sunday ads: [n]
From [each additional step]: [n]
From the notice of filing: [n]
Applicants contacted: [n]. Interviewed: [n].
5. HIRES (§ 656.17(g)(1))
U.S. workers hired: [n].
6. U.S. WORKERS REJECTED, BY LAWFUL JOB-RELATED REASON (§ 656.17(g)(1)–(2))
Reason A: [doesn't hold the required [degree] in [field], stated on Form ETA-9089]: [n] applicants.
Reason B: [lacks [number] months of experience in [occupation], which can't be acquired in a reasonable period of on-the-job training]: [n].
Reason C: [didn't respond to [number] contact attempts on [dates], by [phone/email]]: [n].
Reason D: [withdrew or declined the position on [date]]: [n].
Applications and resumes are kept, sorted by these reasons.
7. LAID-OFF WORKERS (§ 656.17(k)), if applicable
[No layoff in the area of intended employment in this or a related occupation in the 6 months before filing.] [Or: [n] laid-off workers were notified on [date] and considered; results: [summary].]
Signed: ______________________
[Name], [title], [employer]
Date: [date]
Two lines in the sample deserve care before they're kept. Reason C and Reason D describe applicants who didn't continue, which the report records as results; whether a given contact history is enough is a judgment for the attorney on the case. And part 7 belongs in the report only when the employer had a layoff the rule reaches. The layoff rule guide covers when it does.
Before it goes in the file
- Signed and dated by the employer or the representative who normally considers applicants for similar jobs (§§ 656.17(g)(1), 656.10(b)(2)(ii))
- Neither the foreign worker nor the worker's own attorney or agent interviewed or considered the U.S. applicants (§ 656.10(b)(2)(i))
- Every § 656.17(e) recruitment step listed with its source and its dates, matching what Section H of the ETA-9089 records
- The notice of filing listed separately, with where and when it was posted or provided (§ 656.10(d))
- Every application counted, by source, including any that arrived through the notice of filing
- The number of hires stated, even when it's zero
- Every rejected U.S. applicant counted under one reason, and the counts add up to the total rejected
- Every rejection reason tied to a requirement stated on the ETA-9089
- No applicant rejected for a skill they could learn in a reasonable period of on-the-job training (§ 656.17(g)(2))
- Resumes and applications kept in the file, sorted by the report's rejection reasons
- Layoff part completed or deliberately left out, with the reason noted in the file (§ 656.17(k))
- Report and its supporting documents filed with the case, to be kept 5 years from the filing date (§ 656.10(f))
What this guide can't do
- Decide whether a rejection reason is lawful in your case. That turns on the job's stated requirements and the applicant's résumé, and the attorney on the case makes that call. Nothing here is legal advice.
- Replace the recruitment documentation itself. The report summarizes the tear sheets, the job order and the notices; it doesn't stand in for them. The audit file index lists what goes beside it.
Related
- PERM recruitment requirements checklist, for every step the report lists
- The PERM audit file, for the rest of the folder an audit calls in
- My PERM got audited. Is that bad?, the same rules from the worker's side
The free case app at PERM Tracker for attorneys keeps each recruitment step's dates on the case and works out the deadlines from them; the report itself is still yours to write.
