Across school districts and hospitals nationwide, administrators are confronting a common problem: they can’t find enough qualified people to hire. From bilingual aides to behavioral health nurses, vacancies persist month after month. Many institutions quietly rely on immigrant workers, often those with temporary statuses like DACA or TPS, to keep critical operations running. But what happens when that work authorization expires or isn’t renewed in time?
According to immigration attorney Hillary Walsh, founder of New Frontier Immigration Law, a key part of the solution already exists in federal law, and too few employers are using it. The PERM process, short for Program Electronic Review Management, allows employers to sponsor foreign-born employees for permanent residency. It’s legal, structured, and especially relevant in sectors where chronic shortages and high turnover collide.
“Hospitals and school districts are already depending on immigrant labor,” Walsh said. “What they don’t realize is that they can move those employees out of temporary status and into a more stable, long-term path, without breaking any rules or taking unnecessary risks.”
Documented Shortages, Underused Solutions
The numbers speak for themselves. The American Hospital Association estimates that the U.S. will need over 200,000 new registered nurses annually to meet demand through 2031. Public schools are facing a teacher shortfall that has reached crisis levels in multiple states. In California alone, 64 percent of districts reported unfilled positions as of 2023, with special education and support staff being the hardest to retain.
At the same time, data from the Department of Labor shows that more than 100,000 PERM applications were filed in fiscal year 2023. The majority came from large corporate employers in the tech and finance sectors. Public schools, hospitals, and nonprofits remain underrepresented, despite being among the most affected by workforce instability.
The process itself requires employers to conduct recruitment efforts for the position and certify that no qualified U.S. worker is available. If the position qualifies and the petition is approved, the employee may apply for a green card. For roles that have been difficult to fill, such as special education aides or long-term care nurses, this legal route can offer a permanent staffing solution.
Not Just For Corporations
There is a persistent misconception that immigration sponsorship is only viable for high-salary, white-collar roles. Walsh says that assumption is holding institutions back from using one of the most practical tools available to them.
“We’ve worked with cafeteria workers, paraeducators, hospital custodians, and nurses,” she said. “You don’t need to be Google to sponsor someone. You just need to be willing to support the people already holding your organization together.”
In many cases, the employee has already been working at the institution for years. They have institutional knowledge, cultural fluency, and deep ties to the community. Losing them not only disrupts services, it undermines the trust and consistency that schools and hospitals rely on.
The cost of turnover is not just financial. For a single bedside nurse, it can exceed $50,000. For schools, losing multilingual staff can reduce access for families and compromise support for students. Legal sponsorship through the PERM process can create stability where it’s needed most.
When Values And Operations Collide
Institutions dedicated to healing and education often struggle when forced to let go of workers due to lapses in immigration status. The contradiction is difficult to reconcile. Publicly, the mission is care and continuity. Internally, trusted employees may be living with uncertainty about whether they can stay in the job they’ve held for years.
For Walsh, this is not just a legal gap. It is a moral one. “We ask these workers to show up, care for patients, feed children, support students, but we hesitate when it comes to giving them a path to stay,” she said. “The law allows it. The question is whether we’re willing to use it.”
By initiating PERM sponsorship, employers not only reduce the chance of sudden vacancies, but also send a message to staff that their contributions are valued, and worth preserving. It’s a message that matters not just for retention, but for institutional integrity.
A Simple Step Toward Stability
For administrators, the first move doesn’t require a policy overhaul. It starts with asking questions: Who on our team is working under temporary status? What would happen if we lost them? Do we have the documentation to begin a PERM petition?
Those conversations are already happening in institutions that have seen too many valued employees walk away for reasons beyond their control. With legal support and planning, many of those exits could be avoided.
The PERM process is not a quick fix. But for hospitals and schools that are tired of short-term hires and constant turnover, it offers something increasingly rare in the workforce – continuity. And sometimes, keeping the people you already trust is the most strategic move you can make.
