PERM, H-1B and Prevailing Wage Case Processing Statistics from the Department of Labor (FY2015 Q4)

The Department of Labor has provided some updates for the fourth quarter of the Fiscal Year 2015 (July 1 to September 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 (Fourth Quarter, 2015 Fiscal Year)

PERM

According to the PERM case report, during the quarter, there were 23,203 new cases received (an increase of 5% from the prior quarter but a 17% increase in the number of filing compared to the fourth quarter of the year prior – fiscal year 2014), 24,853 certified (notable increase of 40% compared to the prior quarter), 2,008 denied (slight increase compared to the previous quarter)  and 1,096 withdrawn (about the same as the prior quarter).

There are 58,926 applications pending as of September 30, 2015 which is notable decrease of about 15% compared to the prior quarter.   Out of these cases, approximately 77% are in analyst review stage (increase by several percentage points), 13% under audit review (significant decrease, from 22% three months ago) and 9% on appeal (no change).

CILG Comment:  these numbers indicate that the rate of filings and approvals has increased while the rate of cases in audit has decreased while denials have remained steady.   This suggests that DOL is continuing to put efforts on clearing audit cases but also that an increasing number of cases are being approved without an audit (at least during the last quarter).

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 fourth quarter, there were approximately 43,000 prevailing wage determination requests filed — of those, 37,757 were for PERM cases (increase of 6% compared to the previous quarter but increase of 17% compared to the prior year’s period), 1,271 were for H-1B cases (decrease of 10% over from the prior year) and 4,211 were for H-2B cases (increase of 29% year-over-year).     In terms of activity, 35,677 prevailing wage determinations were issued during the third quarter and the pending load has increased from 23528 to 28,375 (or by about 94% compared to the previous year).

CILG Comment:   we are seeing a notable increase and trend in the rate of prevailing wage filings, especially for PERM cases.  The fact that the pending prevailing wage cases has doubled compared to the prior year’s period suggests that there will be longer prevailing wage wait times and, possibly, a higher number of PERM applications resulting in longer PERM processing  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.    The number of LCA filings is lower compared to other quarters during the year, and especially Q2 of 2015 (which included the H-1B cap season).  Even then, there were 103,142  H-1B LCA filings in the fourth quarter, noting a slight decrease from 115,837 LCAs filed during the third quarter of the year.   However, compared to the same period of last year, there is a ten percent increase in the number of LCA filings.  During the quarter, there were 100,801 LCAs certified for 207,115 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 (1,880 out of 110,925 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 fourth quarter of the FY2015 shows a notable increase in PERM filings and PERM approvals.   The rate of audits has gone down slightly.    There were more prevailing wage filings for PERM cases which will ultimately translate to increased number of PERM filings.   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).   There were also more LCAs, most likely attributed to the Simeio decision and subsequent USCIS policy regarding H-1B amendments for worksite changes.

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.