PERM, H-1B and Prevailing Wage Case Processing Statistics from the Department of Labor (FY2015 Q3)

The Department of Labor has provided some updates for the third quarter of the Fiscal Year 2015 (April 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015) on their processing of PERM, H-1B LCA and prevailing wage determination cases and we are happy to share them with our clients and readers.

DOL Processing Statistics (Third Quarter, 2015 Fiscal Year)

PERM

According to the PERM case report, during the quarter, there were 20,289 new cases received (an increase of 5% from the prior quarter and almost exactly the same number of filing compared to the third quarter of the year prior), 16,890 certified (slight decrease over the previous quarter), 2,151 denied (significant increase of more than double compared to prior quarters based on comparable number of applications)  and 1,029 withdrawn (about the same as the prior quarter).

There are 63,097 applications pending as of June 28, 2015 which is largely unchanged compared to recent quarters .   Out of these cases, approximately 68% are in analyst review stage (increase by several percentage points), 22% under audit review (significant decrease, from 30% six months ago) and 9% on appeal (slight increase).

CILG Comment:  while these numbers indicate that the rate of filings and approvals remains more or less unchanged, the percentage of cases in audit stage has dropped significantly while the rate of denial has doubled.   This suggests that DOL is putting more effort on clearing audit cases and subsequently denying more PERM applications.

Prevailing Wage Determinations

The prevailing wage report provides some detailed breakdown of the rate of filings in addition to details about top employers, top occupations and top areas.   During the third quarter, there were approximately 39,000 prevailing wage determination requests filed — of those, 35,658 were for PERM cases (increase of 16% compared to prior year’s period), 1,771 were for H-1B cases (decrease of 7%) and 1,422 were for H-2B cases (increase of 31% year-over-year).     In terms of activity, 30,164 prevailing wage determinations were issued during the third quarter and the pending load has increased from 16,958  during the prior quarter to 23,528 in the third quarter of FY2015 which also represents an increase of 64% compared to the prior year’s period.

CILG Comment:   we are seeing a notable increase in the rate of prevailing wage filings, especially for PERM cases which is likely to result in a higher number of PERM applications and, ultimately, longer PERM processing  times.   Additionally, the number of prevailing wage applications pending at DOL is significantly higher, which suggests longer prevailing wage request wait times.

H-1B/LCA

The H-1B/LCA report also provides a breakdown in the rate of filings, in addition to some details about the top LCA filers and the top positions and geographic areas.    Since this quarter fell entirely outside of the H-1B cap filing season, the number of LCA filings is lower compared to other quarters during the year, and especially Q2 of 2015.  Even then, there were 115,837  H-1B LCA filings in the third quarter, noting a significant decrease from the almost 300,000 LCAs filed during the second quarter of the year (due to the H-1B cap season).   However, compared to the same period of last year, there is a fifteen percent increase in the number of LCA filings.   During the quarter, there were 114,984 LCAs certified for 223,859 positions (one LCA can include more than 1 position).

According to DOL, 100% of the LCAs are processed timely within seven days of receipt.     The rate of LCA denial is fairly low (2,678 out of 126,307 determinations) and the main reasons remain (1) FEIN mismatch or failure to verify before LCA filing  or (2) prevailing wage tracking number issues.

Conclusion

The third quarter of the FY2015 shows a significant increase in the number of DOL filings in a number of categories.  Perhaps most notable is increase in the PERM denial rate, likely as a result of DOL’s efforts to decrease the share of PERM cases in audit stage.   Similarly, the PERM prevailing wage requests and the overall number of pending prevailing wage applications pending rose significantly over the prior year period, signaling continued strong rate of upcoming PERM filings and possibly longer prevailing wage processing times.   Thus, in turn, is likely to translate increase in the PERM case processing times.    We are hopeful that DOL would continue to work on decreasing its load and processing times, especially for the PERM cases (see the most recent PERM processing times report).

We will continue monitoring DOL processing metrics and report any notable developments and trends.      Please visit us again, contact us, or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

By | Last Updated: May 20th, 2017| Categories: Articles, H-1B, News, PERM|

About the Author: Dimo Michailov

Dimo Michailov
Dimo has over 15 years of experience in US immigration including employment-based immigration benefits, corporate compliance and family based immigration. He represents corporate and individual clients in a wide range of cross-border immigration matters including mobility of key foreign executives and managers, specialized knowledge workers, and foreign nationals with extraordinary ability.

The Capitol Immigration Law Group has been serving the business community for over 15 years and is one of the most widely respected immigration law firms focused solely on U.S. employment-based immigration.   Disclaimer:  we make all efforts to provide timely and accurate information; however, the information in this article may become outdated or may not be applicable to a specific set of facts.  It is not to be construed as legal advice.