A new bipartisan bill in Congress could introduce a premium-processing option to one of the slowest stages of the U.S. employment-based green card system. The PERM Backlog Reduction Act of 2026 (H.R. 10051) would allow employers to pay an optional $1,200 fee for the Department of Labor (DOL) to process certain labor certification applications within 30 calendar days, potentially giving companies a more predictable way to plan around international hiring.

For employers trying to hire international workers into permanent positions, the first challenge can arrive long before a green card application reaches U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The PERM labor certification process, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, is a key step in most employer-sponsored employment-based green card cases. But the process can take more than a year, creating uncertainty for businesses and workers alike.

That is the problem targeted by the newly introduced PERM Backlog Reduction Act of 2026.

Representatives Glenn Grothman (R-WI) and Lou Correa (D-CA) introduced H.R. 10051 on August 6. The bipartisan proposal would create an optional premium-processing track for Form ETA-9089, the labor certification application used by employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for permanent employment.

Under the proposed legislation, employers could pay $1,200 for DOL to process an eligible ETA-9089 application within 30 calendar days.

The proposal comes as standard PERM processing remains measured in hundreds of days. According to DOL processing data cited by the legislation’s supporters, PERM Analyst Review determinations completed in July 2026 averaged 372 calendar days.

That gap is significant for companies building workforces around international talent.

What PERM premium processing would actually do

The proposed premium service would not create a shortcut through the entire employment-based immigration system.

Instead, it would target one specific bottleneck: DOL’s processing of the PERM labor certification.

Employers generally complete the PERM process before submitting Form I-140, the immigrant petition, to USCIS. A faster labor certification could therefore reduce uncertainty at an early stage of the green card process.

The proposed $1,200 payment would be directed into a dedicated DOL PERM Premium Processing Fee Account. The bill would authorize those funds for activities including staffing, training, case adjudication, technology upgrades and fraud detection.

The legislation also proposes safeguards intended to prevent the premium track from slowing standard ETA-9089 processing or related prevailing-wage determinations.

In other words, H.R. 10051 is structured less like a blanket immigration overhaul and more like an attempt to apply a familiar administrative model—paying an additional fee for faster government processing—to the labor-certification stage.

USCIS already operates premium processing for certain immigration forms. The proposed legislation would extend a similar concept to the DOL-managed PERM system.

Why employers are watching the proposal

For enterprise HR teams, the issue is ultimately about workforce planning.

Companies hiring international professionals may need to coordinate immigration timelines with job offers, relocation, project staffing and employee retention. A processing period approaching a year can make those plans difficult.

A 30-day premium option would not guarantee a successful application. It would, however, potentially provide employers with a defined processing timeline for a specific stage.

That predictability could be particularly relevant to industries where specialized talent is difficult to source domestically.

EB3.Work, a New York-based platform focused on international talent recruitment, has endorsed the legislation. The company is formally listed as an endorsing organization alongside the Critical Labor Coalition and Coalition of Franchisee Associations.

John E. Dorer, CEO of EB3.Work, described the proposal as a targeted modernization of PERM processing.

But the company’s support also illustrates the broader ecosystem around employment-based immigration: immigration technology providers, employers, workers, attorneys and workforce organizations all have an interest in reducing administrative uncertainty.

The proposal does not change immigration eligibility

There is an important limitation.

H.R. 10051 would not eliminate PERM recruitment requirements, change labor-certification standards or guarantee approval.

It also would not change employment-based visa quotas, Visa Bulletin priority dates, I-140 requirements, adjustment-of-status rules or consular processing.

That means a 30-day PERM decision would not translate into a 30-day green card.

The bill addresses one stage in a much longer immigration process.

That distinction is particularly important for HR departments evaluating the proposal. Faster DOL processing could improve workforce planning, but organizations would still need to account for subsequent immigration steps and potentially lengthy visa-number availability.

A new model for immigration infrastructure?

The proposal also raises a broader question about how government immigration infrastructure could be modernized.

Digital immigration platforms increasingly help employers track cases, organize documentation and manage compliance. Yet technology cannot by itself remove government processing bottlenecks.

The premium-processing model represents a different approach: use an optional employer-funded service to add capacity while maintaining a standard pathway.

If Congress eventually enacts the proposal, implementation details will matter.

DOL would need to establish eligibility rules, filing procedures, operational capacity and safeguards against diverting resources from standard cases. Employers would also need clarity about exactly when the 30-day clock begins and what happens when applications require additional action.

For now, those questions remain hypothetical.

H.R. 10051 is proposed legislation, not an existing DOL service. Employers must continue using the current PERM process unless Congress passes the bill and the Department of Labor implements it.

That makes the immediate impact limited—but the policy direction noteworthy.

As companies increasingly compete for specialized global talent, immigration processing speed is becoming part of workforce infrastructure. The PERM Backlog Reduction Act would test whether a paid, defined processing lane can provide greater certainty without undermining the broader system.

Market Landscape

The U.S. employment-based immigration system sits at the intersection of HR technology, global talent acquisition, workforce planning and government administration.

For employers, immigration delays can turn a hiring decision into a long-term planning exercise. HR and talent-acquisition teams increasingly use workforce-management and immigration platforms to track cases, compliance requirements and employee timelines, but those systems cannot control government adjudication speeds.

The proposed PERM premium model could therefore create a new service layer within immigration infrastructure.

The concept also resembles a broader trend across government technology: using digital workflows, dedicated fees and automation to increase administrative capacity. Companies such as Microsoft, Salesforce and Google have demonstrated how workflow automation can reduce manual processes in enterprise environments; immigration agencies face a different regulatory environment but a similar operational challenge.

The critical issue will be whether additional premium capacity can be created without worsening the standard queue.

Top Insights

• H.R. 10051 would create optional 30-day PERM processing for $1,200, giving employers greater predictability while leaving existing labor-certification requirements unchanged.
• DOL PERM Analyst Review averaged 372 days in July 2026, highlighting why employers and international workers are seeking more predictable employment-based immigration timelines.
• The proposed premium service targets only Form ETA-9089 processing, meaning I-140 adjudication, visa availability and later green card stages would remain unaffected.
• Employers would fund the proposed service through dedicated fees, potentially supporting DOL staffing, technology upgrades, training, adjudication and fraud-detection capabilities.
• HR and global talent teams should treat the proposal as pending legislation, continuing current PERM procedures until Congress and DOL establish any new program.

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