Not every high-volume PERM filer is a reliable green card sponsor. Here is how to evaluate them using Wisa's data.
For H-1B workers, the single most important long-term employer decision is not the lottery win — it is PERM reliability. A company that files 500 H-1Bs per year but only 20 PERMs is not a green card sponsor. A company that files PERMs within the first 90 days of employment is. This guide shows how to use Wisa's DOL data to compute a PERM Reliability Score for any prospective employer in 2026.
Bottom Line: PERM Reliability Score = PERM filings / H-1B filings. Companies above 0.4 are reliable green card sponsors. Below 0.1 is a red flag.
Key Stat: Only 22% of H-1B sponsors in the US meet the reliable PERM sponsor threshold (ratio above 0.4).
Action: Compute the PERM Reliability Score for your target employer on getwisa.com.
| Feature | Data Point | Trend vs 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Reliable PERM Sponsors | ~22% of H-1B filers | New metric |
| Avg PERM Processing | 503 days | +18% |
| Day-One PERM Sponsors | Google, Meta, Apple, Stripe, Shopify | Stable |
| Red Flag Threshold | PERM/H1B ratio < 0.1 | New metric |
| Highest Reliability | Google (0.82), Meta (0.74), Apple (0.69) | Big Tech leads |
Information Gain: Wisa's cross-reference of H-1B and PERM filings reveals a hidden tier in the sponsor market. Many large IT services firms file thousands of H-1Bs but relatively few PERMs — meaning they use H-1B as a temporary labor model without a clear green card pipeline. Candidates targeting permanent residency should weight PERM ratio far more heavily than raw H-1B filing count.
Pro Tip: From an immigration attorney's perspective, the gold standard is a Day-One PERM sponsor. Google, Meta, Apple, Stripe, and Shopify all file PERM within the first 90 days of H-1B employment, starting the green card clock immediately. Given the 503-day processing time, delaying PERM by even a year can extend total green card timelines by 18+ months.
PERM reliability is the decisive factor for long-term H-1B workers from retrogressed countries. With the PERM backlog at 503 days as of April 2026, starting early matters enormously. Companies with low PERM ratios create 'H-1B ceilings' where workers max out the 6-year limit without a filed I-140, forcing departure. The PERM Reliability Score surfaces this risk before accepting an offer.
Search thousands of verified H-1B sponsors by company, industry, and location.
Search H-1B Sponsors on Wisa →Divide the employer's annual PERM filings by their annual H-1B filings using DOL data. A ratio above 0.4 indicates a reliable green card sponsor; above 0.6 is a gold-standard sponsor. A ratio below 0.1 is a red flag indicating the employer uses H-1B as temporary labor without a green card pipeline.
Google, Meta, Apple, Stripe, and Shopify all file PERM within the first 90 days of H-1B employment. These 'Day-One PERM sponsors' start the 503-day processing clock immediately, which is critical for workers from retrogressed countries facing decade-plus green card waits.
A PERM-to-H-1B ratio below 0.1 is a red flag. It indicates the employer files ten times more H-1B petitions than PERM petitions, meaning most workers never get sponsored for a green card. This is characteristic of IT services companies using H-1B as a short-term labor model without permanent pathways.
Because the 503-day PERM processing backlog plus the 6-year H-1B cap creates an 'H-1B ceiling'. Workers at low-PERM-ratio employers max out without a filed I-140 and must leave the US. High PERM ratio employers start the green card clock early enough to avoid the ceiling trap.