PERM Processing Time: How Long Labor Certification Takes

Written by the Ellis Porter content team. This article has not been reviewed by an attorney. It is general information, not legal advice.

How long does PERM take right now?

PERM currently takes well over a year from the first step to certification for most cases. The Department of Labor (DOL) publishes its queues on the FLAG processing times page, and here is what it showed on October 23, 2026:

DOL also reported that PERM cases decided in August 2026 averaged 336 days in analyst review. That is the time after filing only, and it does not include the wage request or recruitment that come first.

If you are waiting on PERM, we know how hard it is to have your plans hang on a government queue. The good news is that these numbers are public, so you can see exactly where the line is.

How do you read DOL’s processing times page?

DOL lists a month, not a number of days, for most queues. That month is the filing (or receipt) month of the cases its staff are working on now.

• If your PERM was filed in February 2026, and the analyst review line says January 2026, your case is next in line but not yet being reviewed.
• If your filing month is earlier than the month shown and you have heard nothing, your case may be in the audit queue, or may have been pulled for other review. That is a question for your employer’s attorney.
• The "average days" figure tells you how long recently decided cases took from filing to decision.

The page also shows how many prevailing wage requests are still waiting, by month received. As of 9/30/2026, DOL listed 3,532 PERM wage requests remaining from June 2026, 15,959 from July, 14,980 from August, and 14,519 from September. That backlog is why the wage step alone now takes a little over three months.

You can check a specific filed case as well. Our PERM status check guide walks through DOL’s public case status search.

How long does each stage of PERM take?

Here is the timeline stage by stage. The estimates come from DOL’s published queues and the timing rules in the regulations; your case may move faster or slower.

Prevailing wage determination: about three months or more

The employer files Form ETA-9141 with DOL’s National Prevailing Wage Center, and DOL’s PERM program page says the employer must have the determination before filing PERM. With June 2026 requests being processed at the end of September, the wait was a little over three months. Our prevailing wage determination guide explains what DOL is deciding.

The determination has a shelf life. Under 20 CFR 656.40(c), DOL sets a validity period of at least 90 days and at most one year, and the employer must file or begin recruitment within it.

Recruitment: usually two months or more

Recruitment can run alongside the wage request in some cases, but it has fixed minimums. Under 20 CFR 656.17(e), a professional job needs:

• a job order with the state workforce agency for 30 days;
• ads on two different Sundays in a newspaper of general circulation; and
• three additional steps from a list of ten, such as the employer’s website or a job search site.

The mandatory steps must be finished at least 30 days, and no more than 180 days, before filing. The employer must also post a notice of filing for at least 10 consecutive business days. In practice, two months is a realistic minimum between the first ad and filing.

DOL analyst review: roughly 9 to 11 months

After the employer files Form ETA-9089, the case waits for an analyst. In early October 2026, DOL was reviewing January 2026 filings, and the average for recently decided cases was 336 days. Under 20 CFR 656.17(b), the result is certification, denial, or an audit.

Audit, if selected: several more months

Under 20 CFR 656.20, applications can be picked for audit based on their content or at random. The employer gets 30 days to send the documents DOL asks for, with one possible extension of up to 30 days. The audit queue was working on December 2025 filings as of 10/05/2026, behind regular review.

After certification: 180 days to file the I-140

Once PERM is certified, the clock changes hands. Under 20 CFR 656.30(b), the certification expires if it is not filed with a Form I-140 within 180 calendar days. Our I-140 processing time guide covers what happens next.

What can make PERM take longer?

A few things stretch the timeline beyond the published averages:

• An audit or supervised recruitment. Under 20 CFR 656.20(d), DOL may also ask for more information or order supervised recruitment before deciding.
• A denial. The employer can ask for reconsideration or review within 30 days, under 20 CFR 656.24. Reconsideration requests were being worked from May 2026 as of 10/05/2026.
• An expired wage determination or recruitment window. If the timing rules are missed, steps may have to be redone.
• A government shutdown. DOL announced on October 31, 2025 that its Office of Foreign Labor Certification had resumed processing wage and labor certification requests, after a pause.
• An employer-level suspension. On October 8, 2026, the administration announced that DOL would not accept new PERM applications from, or process pending ones for, eight companies: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini. For those employees, the published averages do not apply. PERM continues normally for other employers. See our article on the PERM suspension.

Can you speed PERM up?

No, not at DOL. There is no paid expedite for labor certification. What you can control is how much time is lost around the queues:

• Request the prevailing wage early, and plan recruitment so it lands inside the wage validity period.
• Build the recruitment file carefully the first time, since a denial or a weak audit response can cost months.
• Be ready to file the I-140 quickly after certification.

Premium processing does exist later in the process. It is a USCIS service, requested on Form I-907, for the Form I-140. Under the current USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/16/26), it costs $2,965 for an EB-2 or EB-3 petition, and USCIS guarantees action within 15 business days, per its premium processing page. It does not touch the DOL stage.

Why PERM timing matters: your priority date

Under 8 CFR 204.5(d), your priority date is the date DOL accepted the PERM application for processing. That date sets your place in line in the Visa Bulletin. So the long DOL review does not push your place in line back, but a late filing does. For people born in India or other backlogged countries, filing PERM a few months sooner can matter for years. Our guide to EB-2 priority dates for India shows why.

The full green card timeline

PERM is only the first of three stages:

1. PERM with DOL, which sets your priority date.
2. Form I-140 with USCIS.
3. The green card itself, through adjustment of status or consular processing, once your priority date is current.

If you might qualify for a path that skips PERM, such as EB-1A or the EB-2 National Interest Waiver, the whole first stage disappears. Our comparison of EB-1A and the NIW can help you see whether that is realistic. For employer sponsors, a licensed Ellis Porter attorney can help plan the PERM sequence so no time is lost between stages; learn more about our employment-based practice.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Processing times are taken from the Department of Labor’s published queues as of the dates shown and change monthly. Confirm current times at flag.dol.gov and consult a licensed immigration attorney about your case.

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