PERM Frozen at Your Company? Why EB-1A and the NIW Don’t Need It

On October 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor said it would stop accepting new PERM labor certifications — and stop processing pending ones — for eight employers: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. No end date has been announced.

For employees whose green card runs through one of these employers, the usual path is on hold. Two employment-based categories don’t use PERM at all.

What happened

• Who and why. Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the suspensions, pointing to active federal investigations at two of the employers and to the volume of labor certifications at the other six.
• No public explanation yet. The Labor Department has not published guidance or named the legal basis. Its PERM rules allow processing to be suspended for up to 180 days while an employer is investigated for possible fraud or willful misrepresentation, and extended while the investigation continues. A suspension is not a finding of wrongdoing.
• Approvals stand. Nothing announced so far revokes PERMs that were already certified or I-140 petitions that were already approved. Current H-1B status is not affected.
• Other employers are not affected. PERM rules have not changed.

Who it affects

If you work for one of the eight and your green card hasn’t reached an approved labor certification, it can’t move forward for now. The pressure is highest on H-1B holders close to the six-year limit: extensions beyond six years usually depend on a PERM or I-140 filed in time.

Two green cards that skip PERM

PERM exists to test the U.S. labor market for a specific job offer. Two categories don’t require a job offer, so they don’t require PERM — and you can file them yourself, without your employer.

• EB-1A, extraordinary ability. You show sustained national or international acclaim at the top of your field: either a single major, internationally recognized award, or evidence meeting at least three of ten criteria. In either case, USCIS then weighs the record as a whole. You must intend to continue working in your area of extraordinary ability in the United States. Our guide to what extraordinary ability actually means walks through the criteria.
• EB-2 NIW, the National Interest Waiver. You need an advanced degree — or a bachelor’s plus five years of progressive experience — or exceptional ability. Then you meet the three-part test from Matter of Dhanasar: your proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, you are well positioned to advance it, and on balance it benefits the United States to waive the job offer.

Both are filed on Form I-140. Premium processing is available: for $2,965, USCIS must act within 15 business days for EB-1A and 45 business days for the NIW. An action can be an approval, a denial or a request for more evidence — premium processing buys speed, not a result.

Neither is a formality. Both are decided on evidence, and many strong engineers don’t meet the EB-1A bar. For experienced engineers and researchers, the NIW is often the more realistic of the two — but it turns on the work you plan to do, not your job title. Our guide to the National Interest Waiver explains the test in detail.

Your country of birth still matters

Skipping PERM doesn’t skip the visa queue. Your place in line depends on your category and your country of chargeability, which is usually your country of birth. Under the November 2026 Visa Bulletin:

• Born outside China and India. EB-1 remains current. EB-2’s final action date advanced three months, to April 1, 2025; its filing date is unchanged at March 15, 2026. USCIS is accepting the filing-date chart for employment-based green card applications in November. Our October 2026 Visa Bulletin update explains how the two charts work.
• Born in India. An NIW joins the same EB-2 India line as a PERM-based case. EB-1 India is far shorter, so EB-1A is where a self-petition can change your timeline — if your record supports it.
• Born in China. EB-1 is also ahead of EB-2, by almost two years.

Keep your place in line

If you already have an approved I-140 through your employer, you can generally keep its priority date for a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition you qualify for — including one you file yourself. The date is lost only if the approval is revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation, for a material error, or because the labor certification behind it is revoked or invalidated.

That makes an approved I-140 worth far more than a pending PERM: outside those exceptions, the date generally stays with you.

What to do now

• Know where your case stands. PERM pending, PERM certified, I-140 filed or I-140 approved — each is treated differently.
• Check your H-1B clock. If you’re on H-1B, count the time left before your six-year limit.
• Get assessed for EB-1A and the NIW. A self-petition doesn’t depend on your employer, so it stays with you if you change jobs.
• Keep your current status. Filing an I-140 doesn’t change your H-1B.