For employers seeking permanent U.S. workers through the EB-3 “Other Workers” category, the PERM labor certification process can look deceptively straightforward. An employer may have a genuine, permanent job opening, a qualified foreign worker, and a pressing business need—but none of that eliminates the requirement to demonstrate that the U.S. labor market was properly tested.

 
For Other Worker cases, careful recruitment is one of the most important parts of the PERM process. Employers must show the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that they conducted the required recruitment, considered U.S. applicants fairly, and rejected applicants only for lawful, job-related reasons. 

That means a successful case is not simply about finding a foreign worker. It is about building a defensible record showing why the employer could not find a qualified, willing, and available U.S. worker for the permanent position. 

This guide explains what employers should know before beginning recruitment for an Other Worker PERM case. 

The EB-3 employment-based immigrant visa category generally includes three groups: skilled workers, professionals, and other workers. “Other Workers” generally refers to workers performing jobs requiring less than two years of training or experience, where the work is not temporary or seasonal.

The PERM process is handled by the DOL before the employer generally proceeds to the immigrant petition stage with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The DOL explains that permanent labor certification is designed to determine whether there are sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available for the job, and whether hiring the foreign worker will adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers. 

For employers, this creates an important responsibility: the recruitment process must be genuine, properly timed, and documented. 

Before focusing on advertising, an employer should first make sure the underlying position qualifies for PERM.

 
The PERM regulations require the job opportunity to be for permanent, full-time employment. The employer must also establish the actual minimum requirements and duties of the position. (Department of Labor

This is particularly important in Other Worker cases because employers sometimes assume that a position requiring little formal education or experience is automatically easy to certify. 

It is not. 

The employer must be prepared to explain: 

         • What the employee will actually do;
         • Where the employee will work;
         • What the minimum qualifications are;
         • Why those qualifications are genuinely necessary;
         • What wage will be offered; and
         • Why the position is a permanent business need. 

A carefully drafted job description should therefore be established before recruitment begins, rather than creating requirements around the foreign worker's background. 

A PERM case also requires the employer to address the prevailing wage for the position.

 
DOL's current PERM guidance identifies obtaining a valid Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) from the National Prevailing Wage Center as a basic step before filing the PERM application. 

The prevailing wage is important because the recruitment advertisements and eventual employment terms cannot be structured to offer U.S. workers less favorable compensation or conditions than those offered to the foreign worker. 

In practical terms, employers should coordinate the wage determination, job description, minimum requirements, and recruitment strategy rather than treating each step as an independent task. 

One of the biggest advantages of an Other Worker/nonprofessional PERM case is that the recruitment requirements are generally less extensive than those applicable to professional occupations.

 
Under 20 CFR § 656.17(e)(2), an employer filing for a nonprofessional occupation must, at a minimum: 

          1. Place a job order with the appropriate State Workforce Agency (SWA) for 30 days; and
          2. Place advertisements on two different Sundays in the appropriate newspaper of general circulation. 

These recruitment steps must generally occur within the six-month period before filing and must be completed at least 30 days before the PERM application is filed. 

This distinction matters. 

Professional PERM cases generally require additional recruitment steps, while nonprofessional/Other Worker cases do not have that same three-additional-step requirement. DOL's regulations specifically establish the minimum recruitment framework for nonprofessional occupations.

The SWA job order is one of the central pieces of evidence in an Other Worker PERM case.
The employer must place the job order with the SWA serving the area of intended employment for 30 days. The start and end dates of the job order provide documentation of this recruitment step.

Employers should preserve evidence showing: 

          • The date the job order began;
          • The date it ended;
          • The position advertised;
          • The location;
          • The job requirements;
          • The offered wage or other required information; and
          • Any records concerning applicants who responded.

 

A recruitment step that was actually completed but cannot be adequately documented can become a significant problem during an audit. 

For a nonprofessional occupation, the regulations require advertisements on two different Sundays in the newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment that is most appropriate for the occupation and likely workers.

 
If the position is in a rural area where there is no Sunday newspaper, the regulations provide an alternative involving the edition with the widest circulation in the area.

The advertisement itself must also satisfy regulatory requirements. 

Among other things, advertisements must identify the employer, direct applicants on how to apply, describe the vacancy sufficiently, identify the geographic area, and avoid offering a wage below the applicable prevailing wage. The advertisement also cannot contain requirements or duties exceeding those listed on the ETA Form 9089. 

This is why simply purchasing a newspaper advertisement is not enough. 

The content of the advertisement matters. 

Perhaps the most important question in an Other Worker PERM case is:
What happened when U.S. workers applied?

 
DOL requires the employer to prepare a recruitment report describing the recruitment steps, results, number of hires, and, when applicable, U.S. workers rejected and the lawful job-related reasons for those rejections. 

An employer should therefore avoid vague explanations such as: 

“Applicant was not a good fit.” 

That explanation may not adequately demonstrate a lawful, job-related reason. 

Instead, the employer should maintain a clear record explaining why a particular applicant did not meet the actual minimum requirements. 

For example, if the position legitimately requires a commercial driver's license, and an applicant does not possess the required license, the employer may have a concrete job-related reason for rejection. 

But employers must be careful not to reject U.S. workers based on requirements that were created merely to exclude them.

A common misconception is that an employer can simply explain that the foreign worker is already doing an excellent job.

 
That is not the purpose of PERM recruitment.

 
The PERM system is designed to test whether U.S. workers are available for the job opportunity. DOL emphasizes that the employer must demonstrate that there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available, and that employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers. 

The recruitment process therefore needs to be conducted as an actual labor-market test—not as a formality designed to justify a predetermined hiring decision.

Another major issue is whether the employer's stated requirements are genuine.

 
Under 20 CFR § 656.17, the job requirements must represent the employer's actual minimum requirements. DOL may examine whether the employer has hired workers with less training or experience for substantially comparable positions. The regulations also address situations where the foreign worker was already employed by the sponsoring employer. 
This means an employer should ask: 

Would we really require these qualifications from every U.S. applicant? 

If the answer is no, the requirement could create problems. 

For Other Worker positions, employers should be especially careful about adding unnecessary educational, experience, language, licensing, or other requirements that do not genuinely reflect the position. 

PERM recruitment is not complete when the advertisement disappears.

 
Employers should maintain a complete audit file containing evidence of the recruitment process and the employer's evaluation of applicants.

Depending on the case, this may include: 

        • Copies of newspaper advertisements;
        • Proof of publication;
        • SWA job-order information;
        • Résumés and applications received;
        • Interview notes;
        • Applicant contact information;
        • Reasons for rejection;
        • Recruitment reports;
        • Job descriptions;
        • Wage documentation; and
        • Evidence concerning the employer's actual minimum requirements. 

DOL's regulations specifically contemplate that the Certifying Officer may request U.S. workers' resumes or applications and review the reasons applicants were rejected. 

Good documentation therefore gives an employer something extremely valuable: a clear story that can be proven with contemporaneous evidence.

The greatest mistake in an Other Worker PERM case is assuming that the process is easy simply because the position is classified as nonprofessional.

 
The recruitment requirements may be narrower, but compliance still requires precision. 

A PERM application can become vulnerable when: 

          • The advertisement does not accurately describe the job;
          • Recruitment dates fall outside the required period;
          • The newspaper selected is inappropriate;
          • The job order was not maintained for the required period;
          • Applicant records were discarded;
          • Rejection reasons are vague;
          • The employer's minimum requirements do not reflect its actual hiring practices; or
          • The recruitment appears designed around a particular foreign worker. 

These problems can transform an otherwise legitimate immigration case into a costly delay or denial. 

A strong Other Worker PERM case begins before the first advertisement is published.

 

Employers should first establish the genuine job opportunity, confirm the actual minimum requirements, address the prevailing wage, select appropriate recruitment methods, establish a recruitment calendar, and create a system for documenting every U.S. applicant and the reason for any rejection.

 

DOL's PERM guidance emphasizes that employers—not employees—are responsible for filing the labor certification application. 

That responsibility makes preparation especially important.