PERM Processing Times (November 30, 2017)

Our office handles many ETA Form 9089 – Permanent Labor Certification (“PERM”) applications and we are closely monitoring the current PERM processing times not only for the benefit of our clients but also to be able to predict longer-term trends in PERM processing.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM filing and processing statistics in addition to the processing dates as of November 30, 2017.

Quick Summary of the Current PERM Processing Times

Details and Analysis of the PERM Processing Times

The processing times report by DOL for this month suggests that regular and audited PERM processing times have increased slightly.   Regular PERM cases should take around three-and-half to four months now while PERM audits should take around 8 months (counted from the date the PERM was filed or the priority date).

The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: July 2017. DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates of July 2017 and it takes on average 116 days for review.
• Audited applications: April 2017. DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date (date of filing of the PERM application) of April 2017, with review time around 242 days from the date the PERM was filed.
• Appealed applications (requests for reconsideration to the Certifying Officer): November 2017. DOL is processing PERM appeals (requests for reconsideration to the certifying officer) which were appealed in November 2017.  This metric shows that such requests take, on average, about the same amount of time they used to take compared to our previous report.  Currently, it may take about two to three months to hear from the Certifying Officer after a PERM case is denied and a request for appeal is sent to the Certifying Officer.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline. However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue. As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response. If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue. If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue.

Conclusion

The November 2017 PERM processing times report shows that the PERM processing have increased slightly over a period of six months since our last report in May 2017.   These processing times are still relatively short and we are hopeful that this increase is due to temporary factors and that DOL will be able to reverse the trend and decrease the processing timelines over the next months.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you. Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates. Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.