I am currently working with an employer in the US on H1b. I have been working in datawarehousing field for the past almost 5 years. Prior to the US, I had 4 years, 5 months experience in the same field before moving to the US.
Updated analysis (October 31, 2026). Experience gained with the PERM sponsoring employer is not automatically excluded. Under 20 CFR §656.17(i)(3), an employer generally cannot require experience beyond what the foreign worker possessed when hired unless the qualifying experience was acquired in a position not substantially comparable to the offered job or it is no longer feasible for the employer to train a worker to qualify. Substantial comparability turns on job duties, including whether the positions require the same duties more than 50 percent of the time, rather than labels such as data warehousing. The actual pre-employment and post-employment duties, experience letters, recruitment requirements, and employer training evidence require individualized review. No fixed two-month PERM or three-to-five-month EB-2 approval estimate should be used; check the Department of Labor and USCIS live processing resources, and distinguish labor certification, Form I-140, visa availability, and adjustment or consular processing.