Employment · document checklist
EB-2 PERM document checklist
With a certified labor certification in hand, the I-140 evidentiary burden narrows to two questions: does the beneficiary meet the minimum requirements stated on the ETA-9089 exactly as written, and can the employer demonstrate continuing ability to pay the proffered wage from the priority date. Most RFEs here are arithmetic — an experience letter that is a month short, or an ability-to-pay analysis that omits a year.
Governing standard
Certified ETA-9089 plus advanced degree or exceptional ability
8 CFR 204.5(k); 20 CFR 656
Top RFE trigger: Experience letters short of the months required on the ETA-9089
- Documents listed
- 10
- Always required
- 6
- Median exhibit pages
- 95
- Initial RFE rate
- 11.3%
The checklist
Grouped by the purpose each document serves.
Documents marked as always required belong in every filing of this type. The rest apply where the fact pattern calls for them.
Labor certification
2 required of 3
Certified ETA-9089
Signed by employer, beneficiary and attorney
Prevailing wage determination
Matching the SOC and wage level on the 9089
Recruitment filewhere applicable
Retained for audit; produced only if requested
Beneficiary qualification
2 required of 3
Degree certificate and transcripts
Matching the education stated on the 9089
Experience letters
Totalling at least the months required, before the priority date
Credential evaluationwhere applicable
For foreign degrees
Ability to pay
1 required of 3
Employer tax returns
Every year from priority date to filing
Audited financial statementswhere applicable
Where net income or net current assets are marginal
Beneficiary payroll evidencewhere applicable
If already employed at or above the proffered wage
Forms
1 required of 1
Form I-140 and G-28
Priority date and SOC cross-checked against the 9089
This page prints cleanly — use it as a client-facing document request list.
Failure modes
What draws a request on a EB-2 PERM.
Having every document on the list is necessary and not sufficient. These are the structural problems that produce requests even when the evidence is present.
Full RFE trends hub- Experience letters totalling less than the months required on the 9089
- Experience gained with the petitioning employer without a lawful basis
- Ability-to-pay evidence missing a year between priority date and filing
- Degree field on the diploma differing from the field stated on the 9089
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