What provisions have changed in the new system?

According to the Labor Department:

This is a brief list of some of the changes; they are covered in greater detail in the particular topic areas below.

• Filing: Employers have the option of submitting the new form, the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089, electronically directly to a National Processing Center.
• Filing: Supporting documentation is not submitted with the application.
• Filing: Employers file applications directly with the U.S. Department of Labor and not with a State Workforce Agency (SWA).
• Refiling: An employer may, at any time, withdraw an application filed under the regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005, refile under PERM, and maintain the original filing date if the new application complies with the new regulation, the application is identical to the original application, and a job order has not been placed by the SWA for the original application.
• Prevailing Wage: The offered wage must be equal to or greater than the prevailing wage. The wage must be at least 100% of the prevailing wage; the 5% deviation is no longer acceptable.
• Prevailing Wage:Where an acceptable employer-provided survey provides a median and does not provide an arithmetic mean, the median will be used as the prevailing wage.
• Prevailing Wage: The prevailing wage validity period will vary from no less than 90 days to no greater than one year depending on the wage source used.
• Notice of Filing: A notice of filing must be posted in specific locations for ten consecutive business days rather than merely ten days.
• Recruitment: The employer is required to conduct recruitment (more than 30 days and less than 180 days) prior to filing.
  NOTE: While pre-filing recruitment was the basis for reduction-in-recruitment under the regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005, the recruitment provisions in the new system differ.
• Recruitment: Recruitment provisions are divided into professional and nonprofessional occupations and additional recruitment steps are required for professional occupations.
• Recruitment: Sunday edition newspaper advertisements are required.
• Recruitment: A job order, obtained through the SWA, is required.
• Recruitment: The special handling provision has been removed. Optional recruitment provisions for college and university teachers are in § 656.18. Provisions for college and university teachers of exceptional ability in the science and arts are covered in § 656.5.
• Revocation: Certifying Officers have the authority to revoke approved labor certifications.
• Adjudication: Certifying Officers will either certify or deny applications. The interim step under the previous regulations of issuing a Notice of Finding (NOF) has been eliminated.
• Schedule A, Professional Nurses: A Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) Certificate rather than merely passage of the CGFNS examination is required to qualify an alien for Schedule A certification.
• Schedule A, Professional Nurses: Passage of the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX—RN) examination is a means by which to qualify the alien for Schedule A certification.
• Schedule B: Schedule B has been eliminated.