EB-2 through PERM
A green card through your employer, step by step
If your job needs a master’s degree, or a bachelor’s plus 5 years of growing experience, your employer can sponsor you in EB-2. Exceptional ability can also qualify. First your employer must show the Department of Labor that no qualified US worker is available.
- Who files
- Your US employer
- Labor certification
- Required (PERM)
- What you need
- Advanced degree or exceptional ability
- Legal fee from
- $7,995
What you get
A path from a work visa to a green card
This route is for people whose employer wants to keep them for the long term. Your employer offers you a permanent, full-time job. Then it goes through three stages: the labor certification (PERM) with the Department of Labor, the Form I-140 petition with USCIS, and finally your green card application.
The good news: your place in line is set early. Your priority date is the day the Department of Labor accepts your PERM application. Once your I-140 is approved, you can usually keep that date, even if you later file a new petition.
The hard part: you need a sponsor, and the process has several waits. Depending on your country of birth, the wait for a visa number after approval can be years.
Who qualifies
What must be true for EB-2 through PERM
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A US employer sponsors you
The employer offers you a permanent job and files the paperwork. You cannot file PERM for yourself.
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The job needs an advanced degree or exceptional ability
It is not enough that you have the degree. The job itself must normally require a master’s or higher, or a bachelor’s plus 5 years of progressive experience in the specialty after the degree. If you apply through exceptional ability, the job must require that ability.
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You meet the job’s requirements
You hold the required degree and experience. Or you show exceptional ability: you meet at least 3 of 6 USCIS criteria, and then USCIS looks at all your evidence together.
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No qualified US worker is available
Your employer must test the job market. The Department of Labor must certify there are not enough able, willing, qualified and available US workers for the job.
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The pay meets the prevailing wage
The offered wage must be at least the prevailing wage the Department of Labor sets for that job and area.
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The employer can pay
The employer shows it can pay the offered wage from your priority date until you get your green card, usually with tax returns, annual reports or audited financial statements.
How it works
The steps, in order
Each Department of Labor step can take months. The Department posts its current processing times.
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Prevailing wage request
Your employer asks the Department of Labor to set the minimum wage for the job and location.
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Recruitment
Mostly 30 to 180 days before filingFor professional jobs, your employer places a 30-day job order with the state workforce agency, runs two Sunday newspaper ads (or one ad and one in a professional journal in some cases), and takes three more recruitment steps. It also posts a notice at the worksite for 10 business days in a row and in its in-house media.
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File the PERM application
Your employer files Form ETA-9089 online through the Department of Labor’s FLAG system. This date becomes your priority date. The application may be approved, denied or chosen for audit.
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File Form I-140
After PERM approval, your employer must file the I-140 with USCIS within 180 days, or the labor certification expires. Premium processing is available.
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Wait for your priority date
Depends on your countryWhen your date is current in the Visa Bulletin, you can take the last step. For some countries this is soon. For others it can take years.
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Apply for the green card
If you are in the US, you file Form I-485 to adjust status. If you are abroad, you go through a US consulate. If you are a citizen of a country under a current US travel proclamation, an immigrant visa may not be issued abroad right now. Your attorney checks this before you choose this route. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can usually apply with you.
What it costs
Government fees and our legal fee
Government fees go to USCIS. The legal fee goes to the partner law firm.
| Item | Cost | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| PERM recruitment (ads, job order) | Varies, paid by the employer | Ad outlets |
| Form I-140 filing fee | $715 by mail, $665 online | USCIS |
| Asylum Program Fee | $600 for most employers, $300 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees, $0 for nonprofits | USCIS |
| Premium processing for the I-140 (optional) | $2,965 | USCIS |
| Form I-485, each person 14 or older | $1,440 by mail | USCIS |
| Form I-485, child under 14 filing with a parent | $950 by mail | USCIS |
| USCIS Immigrant Fee, if you get your green card abroad | $235 per person | USCIS |
| Legal fee, EB-2 PERM | From $7,995 (tiers: $7,995, $9,975) | Partner law firm (PERM part paid by your employer) |
Government fees are from the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 09/09/26), as of September 2026. Fees change, so they are checked again before filing. Consular cases also pay State Department fees. The PERM part of the legal fee must be paid by your employer when the partner firm represents your employer. Your attorney will tell you which parts of the fee, if any, you may pay yourself.
Who pays for PERM
Department of Labor rules say your employer must pay the costs of the labor certification, including its own lawyer’s fees for that step. It cannot pass them to you, for example by cutting your pay. You may pay for your own lawyer, as long as that lawyer does not also represent your employer. Your attorney will explain who can pay for each later step.
How long it takes
Three waits, and only one can be sped up
The Department of Labor steps come first. Times for the prevailing wage and PERM decisions vary, and an audit adds more time. USCIS premium processing does not apply to these Department of Labor steps.
For the I-140, premium processing is available. With it, USCIS aims to act within 15 business days. That means a decision, a Request for Evidence, or a notice of intent to deny. Without it, times vary. You can check current USCIS processing times.
Then comes the wait for a visa number. EB-2 has a yearly limit. Also, people born in any one country can get only about 7 percent of all family and work green cards each year. If many people from your country are in line, you may wait years. Our Visa Bulletin guide shows how to read the monthly cutoff dates.
How we help
Attorney-led, with two lawyers on every petition
EB-2 PERM cases are handled by attorneys at our independent partner firm. Frank, our extraordinary ability partner, does not cover PERM.
A plan for every stage
A senior attorney leads the case from prevailing wage to I-140 and writes a legal strategy memo.
A second attorney reviews it
Before filing, a second attorney reads the petition with fresh eyes.
RFE responses included
If USCIS sends a Request for Evidence or a notice of intent to deny on a case they filed, the response is part of the fee.
For companies too
Employers get one case board, role-based views and flat per-case fees. See corporate immigration.
FAQ
Common worries
Once your I-140 is approved, you usually keep its priority date for a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition, even with a new employer. The new employer would need to start its own process. You can lose the date if USCIS revokes the approval for fraud, material error or a few other reasons.
If a qualified US worker who is able, willing and available applies, the Department of Labor will not certify the job. Your attorney helps your employer set real job requirements and review applicants properly.
A foreign degree that is equal to a US degree counts. Your attorney will usually get a credential evaluation to show this.
It depends on the job’s real requirements and your country’s line in the Visa Bulletin. See our EB-3 guide. Your attorney compares both before filing.
No one can promise approval. Some cases get refund-backed terms, but only if the reviewing attorney approves after assessing the case. They cannot be requested or bought.
Sources · checked September 2026
- USCIS: Employment-Based Immigration, Second Preference EB-2
- USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 6, Part F, Ch. 5 (Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability)
- DOL: Permanent Labor Certification (PERM)
- 20 CFR 656.17, Basic labor certification process (eCFR)
- 20 CFR 656.10, notice and attestations (eCFR)
- 20 CFR 656.12, Improper commerce and payment (eCFR)
- 20 CFR 656.30, validity and priority date (eCFR)
- 20 CFR 656.40, prevailing wage (eCFR)
- 8 CFR 204.5 (d), (e), (g)(2), (k) (eCFR)
- DOL FLAG: PERM and prevailing wage processing times
- USCIS Fee Schedule, Form G-1055 (edition 09/09/26)
- USCIS: Guidance on Paying Fees for Form I-140 (Asylum Program Fee)
- USCIS: How Do I Request Premium Processing?
- USCIS: Visa Availability and Priority Dates
- 8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2), per-country limit (Cornell LII)
- USCIS Case Processing Times
- White House fact sheet: Proclamation 10998, further restricting entry of foreign nationals (December 2025)
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; a partner-firm attorney confirms what applies to you before anything is filed.
