How to Permanently Keep Your Foreign Employee

Your company has a great employee from another country working on a temporary visa and wants to keep them permanently. That means helping them obtain Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status, better known as a green card. For most employers, that journey starts with the PERM Labor Certification process, or in non-technical terms, obtaining permission from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to offer the foreign employee a permanent position in the United States.

The Big Picture: There’s No U.S. Worker to Do the Job

It sounds easy to offer a foreign employee a permanent position, but before the company can do that, the U.S. government requires the company to prove that there is no qualified U.S. worker available. If there is a U.S. worker available, then the U.S. government wants the company to offer the job to that U.S. worker first. The PERM Labor Certification process is how employers prove the need for the foreign worker. In essence, this process tells the DOL: “The company conducted a genuine search for a U.S. worker, and we still need this foreign employee.” This article explains what is involved.

This is a Job Offer for the Future, Not Now

This requires some conceptual acrobatics to grasp. Even if the foreign employee is already working for the company, they are not a permanent worker until they obtain a green card. Therefore, the entire process described here is based on a job offer for the future (i.e., when the employee gets the green card), not for now. This distinction has important strategic implications throughout the process.

Step One: Define the Job Carefully

The company must first document the position’s duties, required education, experience, and any special skills. The government has a strict standard for these requirements: they must reflect the bare minimum requirements needed to perform the job competently. The company cannot tailor the requirements to the employee’s resume. Expect some back-and-forth with the attorney to get this right, especially if the company has not described roles through this particular lens before.

The foreign employee will also need to prove they meet the requirements the company sets, through experience letters, diplomas, or evaluations of foreign credentials.

Step Two: DOL Decides the Salary for the Position

Based on the company’s location and industry, the DOL will tell them the wage that needs to be offered for this position by assigning a “prevailing wage,” which is the minimum salary for the role. This is the amount the company will need to pay the foreign employee once they get the green card. Depending on the employee’s country of birth, that could be years away. Even though the company does not actually need to pay this salary until later, the company must prove a continuing ability to pay that wage until the green card is approved. This is further detailed in the MurthyDotCom InfoArticle, Requirement to Prove Ability to Pay in an I-140 Petition (31.Aug.2020). This is also the wage the company must offer potential U.S. workers during the recruitment period, which comes next.

Step Three: Recruit U.S. Workers for the Position

The government requires a legitimate recruitment campaign to confirm no qualified U.S. workers are available, and this recruitment is done in a way the company likely never has recruited before. The good news is that the DOL tells you exactly how to recruit, but the bad news is that the rules are very strict. The company will need to run two Sunday newspaper ads, a 30-day posting on the applicable state workforce job board, a physical notice and, for professional positions, three additional recruiting methods such as the company website, a job search website, or employee referral program, among other options.

Resumes need to be reviewed, qualifications assessed, and in some cases, candidates must be contacted and interviewed. The rules for what constitutes a legitimate reason to pass on a candidate are nuanced, and this is where experienced legal counsel proves invaluable. If the recruitment turns up a qualified, willing, and available U.S. worker, the company is not required to hire them, but the PERM process ends. The company can try again later but likely will need to begin from scratch.

Step 4: Get Permission from DOL to Make the Permanent Job Offer

If no qualified U.S. worker is found, the company will file the application for labor certification with the DOL. This application neatly packages the prior three steps for the DOL and essentially says: “The company did everything it was required to do to find a qualified U.S. worker, and having found none, please grant permission for the company to sponsor the foreign employee.”

Step 5: Formally Offer the Foreign Employee the Job

Finally, the company will make the formal job offer to the foreign employee by filing an I-140 petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This petition informs the USCIS that the company passed the DOL gauntlet and has permission to offer the foreign employee a permanent position in the U.S. Ultimately, this job offer will serve as the basis for that foreign employee’s green card.

The Bottom Line

The PERM Labor Certification process is the most common way to keep a foreign worker permanently across almost every industry and profession, be it a software developer, engineer, dentist, or household help. The PERM process is detailed, the rules are strict, and the margin for error is slim, but with proper planning and the help of an attorney, it is often successful. Murthy Law Firm attorneys are available to consult on this topic. Be sure also to read the MurthyDotCom NewsBrief, Tips for Companies to Ensure Smoother PERM Process (09.Jun.2025).

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