June 25, 2026. Office of Foreign Labor Certification Announces Publication of an Updated Appendix A to the Preamble–Education and Training Categories by O*NET–SOC Occupations for July 2026 through June 2027 Wage Year
On November 15, 2021, the Employment and Training Administration issued a Federal Register notice (FRN) informing the public that the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) was updating Appendix A to the Preamble–Education and Training Categories by Occupational Information Network (O*NET)–Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Occupations. Appendix A is a list of professional occupations that serves as a guide for employers to distinguish between professional and non-professional occupations in order to comply with the professional recruitment requirements of the PERM program. The FRN stated that OFLC intends to review BLS’s occupational and education data each year to publish a new list of occupations on its website, even when BLS data remain the same from the previous year.
Key changes
On November 15, 2021, the Employment and Training Administration issued a Federal Register notice (FRN) informing the public that the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) was updating Appendix A to the Preamble–Education and Training Categories by Occupational Information Network (O*NET)–Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Occupations. Appendix A is a list of professional occupations that serves as a guide for employers to distinguish between professional and non-professional occupations in order to comply with the professional recruitment requirements of the PERM program. The FRN stated that OFLC intends to review BLS’s occupational and education data each year to publish a new list of occupations on its website, even when BLS data remain the same from the previous year.
View the November 15, 2021, Federal Register notice
OFLC is releasing this year's Appendix A, which implements the new list of professional occupations for the July 2026 through June 2027 wage year and will be effective starting July 1, 2026.
View the list of professional occupations in Appendix A View the complete list of Typical Entry-Level Educational Requirement Data, May 2025 on BLS website
