PERM processing time is now just under a year for the Department of Labor's own review, plus several months before your employer can even file. As of 5 October 2026, the DOL's FLAG processing times page shows analyst review working on PERM applications filed in December 2025, and an average of 336 calendar days to decide the applications it finished in August 2026. The prevailing wage step that comes first was working through PERM requests received in June 2026, as of 30 September 2026. This post reads those numbers for the person the case is about: an employee on H-1B, or on STEM OPT heading there, who wants to know what the wait means for their status.
Every figure below was read from Department of Labor, USCIS and Federal Register pages on 18 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Your employer's immigration attorney is the right person for your own dates.
Current PERM and PWD processing times
| Queue | What FLAG shows | As of | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prevailing wage (PWD), PERM, OEWS | June 2026 receipts | 30 September 2026 | Requests filed in June are being worked about three to four months later |
| Prevailing wage (PWD), PERM, non-OEWS | June 2026 receipts | 30 September 2026 | Same queue month for requests that rely on other wage sources |
| PWD redeterminations, PERM | July 2026 | 30 September 2026 | Employer appeals of a wage decision |
| PWD Center Director review, PERM | July 2026 | 30 September 2026 | The next level of wage appeal |
| PERM analyst review | December 2025 filings | 5 October 2026 | Cases filed in December are being decided about ten months later |
| PERM audit review | December 2025 filings | 5 October 2026 | Audited cases filed in the same month |
| PERM reconsideration request to the Certifying Officer | May 2026 appeals | 5 October 2026 | Denials appealed in May |
| Average days, analyst review | 336 calendar days | August 2026 decisions | About 11 months from filing to decision (our arithmetic) |
| Average days, audit review | N/A | August 2026 decisions | DOL did not publish an average |
Source: DOL FLAG processing times, read 18 October 2026. The "what it means" column is our reading.
FLAG says the queue dates "reflect the month and year in which cases were filed and are currently being adjudicated," and that "actual processing times for each employer's PERM application may vary from the average." Neither is a promise for your case. For prevailing wage requests FLAG publishes no average, only the queue month and a count of open requests by receipt month.
FLAG lists 3,532 PERM wage requests still open from June 2026, 15,959 from July, 14,980 from August and 14,519 from September, plus 44 older ones: 49,034 in total (our sum). Each month behind June is more than four times what is left of June.
The three stages and their fixed waits
PERM is the Department of Labor's permanent labor certification: your employer proves it tested the US labor market for your job at the required wage. Two of its three stages contain waits the regulations fix, so no one can speed them up.
1. Prevailing wage determination (PWD). The employer asks the DOL's National Processing Center what the job must pay. Under 20 CFR 656.40(c), the validity period "in no event may be less than 90 days or more than 1 year from the determination date," and the employer must file the PERM or "begin the recruitment period ... within the validity period." The wage also feeds the recruitment, because the notice of filing "must state the rate of pay," which must equal or exceed the prevailing wage.
2. Recruitment. For professional jobs, 20 CFR 656.17(e) sets the rules:
- "The mandatory recruitment steps must be conducted at least 30 days, but no more than 180 days, before the filing of the application."
- A job order with the state workforce agency "for a period of 30 days."
- An advertisement "on two different Sundays" in a newspaper of general circulation, or a professional journal for some roles.
- "three additional recruitment steps" from a list of ten, such as the employer's website, a job fair or a job search site. "Only one of the additional steps may consist solely of activity that took place within 30 days of the filing."
Separately, 20 CFR 656.10(d) requires a notice of filing posted at the worksite "for at least 10 consecutive business days," provided "between 30 and 180 days before filing the application." In practice the 30-day job order plus the 30-day rule means recruitment takes about two months at the least (our reading), and the 180-day limit means it cannot be done far in advance.
3. Filing and review. The employer files Form ETA-9089 on FLAG. The filing date becomes your priority date: under 20 CFR 656.30(a)(2), the filing date "of an approved labor certification may be used as a priority date" by DHS and the State Department. Then the case waits in the analyst review queue in the table above.
One more rule matters to you as the employee: 20 CFR 656.12(b) says an employer "must not seek or receive payment of any kind for any activity related to obtaining permanent labor certification, including payment of the employer's attorneys' fees." The PERM is the employer's case and the employer's bill.
A worked timeline, from today's queues
Here is a sample case, not a real one, with the math shown. Assume the employer asks for a PWD on 1 November 2026, the queues move at today's pace, and there is no audit.
| Step | Basis | Sample date |
|---|---|---|
| PWD requested | Start | 1 November 2026 |
| PWD issued | Queue about 3 to 4 months behind receipt | about March 2027 |
| Recruitment done, PERM filed | About 2 months minimum under 656.17(e) | about May 2027 |
| PERM certified | 336-day average in analyst review | about April 2028 |
| I-140 filed and decided with premium processing | Filing allowed within 180 days; USCIS acts within 15 business days | about May 2028 |
That is roughly 18 months from wage request to an approved I-140 (our arithmetic). An audit, a slower wage queue or a slow recruitment calendar adds to it. The PWD backlog shown above is the part most likely to grow.
What the numbers mean for you on H-1B
H-1B status runs out at six years: USCIS's H-1B page says you "may generally be admitted for a period of up to 3 years," extendable "for an additional period of up to 3 years." The PERM is usually the first filing that lets you stay past that.
The 365-day extension. Under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D), you are eligible for H-1B time beyond six years "if at least 365 days have elapsed since" the filing of a labor certification on your behalf, or the filing of an immigrant petition. Extensions are granted "in up to 1-year increments" until the case is denied, the certification expires, or a final decision is made on your green card. Four details from the same paragraph:
- The extension employer "need not be the employer that filed the application for labor certification." An old employer's pending PERM can still support a new employer's extension.
- You may not add up days from two different filings to reach 365.
- The employer can file the extension up to 6 months ahead, as long as the PERM was filed at least 365 days before the extended period starts.
- Once a visa is available to you, you must file for the green card "within 1 year" or lose eligibility for further extensions, unless USCIS excuses it.
The 3-year extension. Under paragraph (E) of the same section, if your I-140 is approved and you could get the green card "but for application of the per country limitation," USCIS may grant H-1B extensions "in increments of up to 3 years." It matters most to people born in a country with a long backlog in their category.
Counting backwards. Take a sample worker whose six years end on 30 September 2028, with no time abroad to recapture. For the 365-day route, the PERM has to be filed by about 30 September 2027. With PWD and recruitment taking about six months at today's pace, the employer should ask for the PWD by about April 2027 at the latest (our arithmetic). Start earlier if you can: a slower wage queue or a second recruitment round pushes the filing past the cutoff.
On STEM OPT. These extensions are for someone who "is in H-1B status or has previously held H-1B status." A pending PERM does not extend an OPT or STEM OPT end date; our STEM OPT extension guide covers that clock.
Changes to watch. On 14 October 2026, USCIS proposed removing 8 CFR 214.1(c)(5), which "generally provides that USCIS gives deference to a prior approval involving the same facts when adjudicating a request to extend." Comments close 13 November 2026. If finalized, each extension, including one based on a pending PERM, could be reviewed from scratch. It is a proposal, not a final rule.
Audits and reconsideration
Audits. Under 20 CFR 656.20, review of an application "may lead to an audit," and some applications "may be selected randomly." The audit letter sets "a date, 30 days from the date of the audit letter, by which the required documentation must be submitted," and warns that the case will be denied if nothing arrives. FLAG shows audit review working on December 2025 filings, the same month as analyst review, and publishes no average days for audited cases in August 2026. If your case is audited, get your employer's attorney what they ask you for, such as proof of your experience, quickly.
Reconsideration. If a case is denied, the employer "may request reconsideration within 30 days from the date of issuance of the denial," under 20 CFR 656.24(g). The request can only include documents the DOL already had or documents that existed at filing and that the employer had no chance to present. FLAG shows the Certifying Officer reviewing reconsideration requests filed in May 2026. A denial that is still within its appeal window, or under appeal, is not "final" for the 365-day H-1B extension rule above, under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)(3).
Changing jobs during PERM
The certification belongs to the job, not to you. Under 20 CFR 656.30(c)(2), "a permanent labor certification involving a specific job offer is valid only for the particular job opportunity, the alien named on the original application ... and the area of intended employment." A new employer means a new PWD, new recruitment and a new filing. What carries over depends on how far you got:
| How far the case got | What happens if you move | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| PWD or recruitment only | Nothing carries over; the new employer starts from the beginning | 656.30(c)(2) |
| PERM pending 365 days or more | Your new employer can still use it for H-1B extensions past six years | 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D)(6) |
| I-140 approved | You keep the priority date for a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition, unless the approval is revoked for fraud, a material error, or a revoked or invalid labor certification | 8 CFR 204.5(e) |
| I-140 approved 180 days or more | A withdrawal by the employer does not cancel the approval | 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(iii)(C) |
| Green card application pending 180 days or more | The petition can stay valid for a new job "in the same or a similar occupational classification" | 8 U.S.C. 1154(j) |
In short: moving before the I-140 is approved costs you the whole PERM wait. Moving after costs you a new PERM but keeps your place in line. The H-1B side of a move works separately, through a new petition, and our H1B transfer guide covers it. If you are looking, the USCIS data behind our list of companies that sponsor H1B shows which employers file regularly.
From PERM to green card: the chain
For most EB-2 and EB-3 cases, the PWD, recruitment and PERM filing above (steps 1 to 3) come first, and the PERM filing date becomes your priority date. Then:
- I-140. Under 20 CFR 656.30(b)(1), a certification "expires if not filed in support of a Form I-140 petition ... within 180 calendar days" of approval. USCIS premium processing lists EB-2 I-140s that do not seek a national interest waiver, and EB-3 I-140s "if designated as available," with action in 15 business days.
- Visa Bulletin. Your priority date must be current in the State Department's Visa Bulletin for your category and country of birth. For October 2026, USCIS says that "for all employment-based preference categories, you must use the Dates for Filing chart" to file an adjustment application.
- Adjustment of status (Form I-485) or consular processing abroad.
If your category and country of birth are current or close to it, step 3 is the long wait. If they are backlogged, step 5 can be far longer, and the PERM matters mainly because it fixes your priority date and supports the H-1B extensions above. Read the bulletin chart for your own category and country.
One proposal touches step 1. On 27 March 2026, the DOL proposed raising the wage floors used in PERM and H-1B, "for Wage Level I from the 17th percentile to the 34th percentile, for Wage Level II from the 34th to the 52nd, for Wage Level III from the 50th to the 70th, and for Wage Level IV from the 67th to the 88th." Comments closed on 26 May 2026, and we found no final rule as of 18 October 2026. If it is finalized, a higher required wage could change which jobs an employer is willing to sponsor. How it would treat requests already in the queue depends on the final text. Our H-1B wage levels post explains the four levels.
How to check your case
- Get the case number. Ask your employer or its attorney for the PERM case number and the exact filing date. The filing date is your priority date if the case is approved.
- Search FLAG. The DOL announced in 2023 that "external filers will now be able to search for the status of their PERM application by entering the full case number (including dashes) in the Case Status Search box."
- Compare with the queue. On the processing times page, find the analyst review month. If your case was filed in or before that month, it is being worked now. If it was filed after, count the months between.
- Know when to ask. FLAG says: "If your application was filed more than three months prior to the month posted, you may contact the OFLC PERM Helpdesk for a status on the application at oflc.plc@dol.gov." The note is written for filers, so ask your employer or attorney to make the inquiry.
- Watch the I-140 deadline. Once certified, ask your employer when it will file the I-140 within the 180-day window, and whether it will use premium processing.
If you start a new job search during any of this, the honest answer to "will you need sponsorship" is still yes, because a new employer would file its own H-1B petition and PERM. If you use ApplyEze for that search, hard facts come from your profile and it reuses the work authorization answers you save. When a required question is not covered by your saved answers, ApplyEze still fills it rather than stopping the run, so that answer may not come from you. Fill in your saved answers, use dry run first, and read your receipts.