Processing Times for PERM in 2026

PERM cases are moving a little faster, but the October 2026 Visa Bulletin moved the finish line for many employees. Analyst review now averages 336 days, and EB-2 and EB-3 cutoffs went backward for most countries. Here is how the two fit together for your open cases.

DOL's current PERM numbers: analyst review averages 336 days

DOL's PERM page now shows analyst review at 336 calendar days for August 2026 determinations. WayLit's earlier updates reported 403 days in July and 372 days in August.

Source: DOL FLAG processing times. PERM data as of September 22, 2026. PWD data as of August 31, 2026. The August 28 column uses PWD data as of June 30, 2026.

Here is what is still waiting at the PWD stage. About 45,155 of the 47,941 pending requests were received between June and August 2026.

Source: DOL FLAG processing times, remaining PERM requests by receipt month, as of August 31, 2026. The total is WayLit's sum of the listed months.

The pending inventory is concentrated in June through August 2026. That supports planning around the current three-to-four-month lag between receipt and processing, but the counts alone do not predict when a particular request will be completed.

What HR should calendar and track on every open case

Adding the current figures gives a planning scenario. A case that completes the three stages sequentially would take approximately 16 to 18 months from the PWD request to certification under the current averages, assuming no audit. That range uses 3 to 4 months for the PWD, 2 to 3 months for recruitment, and about 11 months for analyst review.

Some employers may overlap part of the PWD and recruitment periods after consulting counsel, so this range should be treated as a planning scenario rather than a minimum or guaranteed timeline. DOL's PERM FAQs say an employer does not have to wait for the PWD before starting recruitment, and they warn that the employer cannot offer a wage below the prevailing wage during recruitment. DOL's own description of the standard process has the employer obtain the PWD first, and the employer needs a valid PWD to file the ETA Form 9089. Ask counsel which approach fits each case.

The range leaves out the I-140 and the visa availability wait that follow certification. Run these steps against every sponsored employee with a PERM case in progress, and have counsel confirm how each applies.

• 1
  Track four milestones separately. Give each case separate dates for the PWD, recruitment, PERM adjudication, and visa availability. Write the PWD receipt month or ETA Form 9089 filing month next to the month DOL is working on today. DOL's page says employers whose application was filed more than three months before the posted month may contact the OFLC PERM Helpdesk.
• 2
  Calendar the PWD validity period and the recruitment window. DOL must assign each PWD a validity period of at least 90 days and no more than one year (20 CFR 656.40(c)). Calendar the expiration date shown on the determination and confirm with counsel whether recruitment or the PERM filing must occur within that period. The professional recruitment steps must fall 30 to 180 days before filing, with one step allowed in the last 30 days.
• 3
  Calendar the 180-day I-140 deadline the day DOL certifies a case. A certified labor certification generally expires unless it is filed with Form I-140 within 180 calendar days. Visa Bulletin retrogression may delay the I-485, but it generally does not prevent the employer from filing the I-140.
• 4
  Record each employee's priority date and country of chargeability. Chargeability is usually the country of birth but may differ in some cases. Identify employees whose country the bulletin lists separately, such as the Philippines for EB-3, so they do not get planned against the general numbers.
• 5
  Re-run the green card timeline with the October bulletin. Many cases in the currently posted analyst queue were filed in December 2025 and, if certified, generally have priority dates in or around that month. That date is later than every October Final Action Date shown in the tables below. USCIS says employment-based adjustment-of-status applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart in October 2026, so ask counsel whether an otherwise eligible employee may file Form I-485 during October.
• 6
  Flag changes to the sponsored future position. Watch the duties, requirements, and area of intended employment of the permanent job described in the application. A change to the employee's current job does not automatically raise the same question.
• 7
  Sort your cases by wage-rule exposure. Keep three lists: approved PWDs, PWD requests still pending, and PWDs not yet filed. The proposed wage rule, described below, may treat them differently.

The three stages and their fixed timing rules

PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management. It is the required first step for most employer-sponsored EB-2 and EB-3 green cards. EB-1, EB-2 National Interest Waiver cases, and Schedule A cases do not go through DOL's standard PERM recruitment and adjudication process. Schedule A employers file with the Department of Homeland Security instead of DOL.

• 1
  Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD). The employer asks DOL to set the wage floor for the position based on job duties, location, and experience requirements.
• 2
  Recruitment. The employer runs the required job advertising to test the labor market for U.S. workers.
• 3
  ETA Form 9089. After completing recruitment and determining that no able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. worker was identified, with any rejections supported by lawful, job-related reasons, the employer may file ETA Form 9089. If DOL certifies the application, its filing date generally serves as the priority date for the resulting employment-based immigrant petition.

Recruitment has fixed timing windows

Regulation sets the recruitment steps, so a fast PWD does not shorten them. For professional occupations, the employer must complete the following.

• A state workforce agency job order for at least 30 days
• Two newspaper advertisements on two different Sundays in a publication serving the area of employment. For some advanced-degree positions, a qualifying professional journal advertisement may replace one Sunday advertisement. In rural areas without a Sunday edition, the employer may use the edition with the widest circulation.
• A notice posted at the worksite for ten consecutive business days, or notice to the union where one applies
• Three additional steps from DOL's list, such as employer website postings, job fairs, or campus recruiting

The professional recruitment steps must take place 30 to 180 days before the ETA Form 9089 is filed. One of the three additional steps may take place within the last 30 days. Plan for roughly 60 days at minimum from the start of recruitment to filing, and expect 2 to 3 months in practice.

Possible outcomes after ETA Form 9089

• Certification. DOL certifies the case and the employer files the I-140 petition. Calendar the 180-day deadline for filing the certification with the I-140 the day the certification arrives.
• Denial. Counsel can ask for reconsideration or pursue other review, which adds time.
• Audit. DOL requests documentation and the case moves to a separate audit review queue. That queue is on December 2025 filings, the same month as analyst review. DOL publishes no average for it.

Where to check a case

• 1
  DOL processing times. DOL updates the page at the end of the first work week of each month, with data ending at 12 a.m. EST on the first of the month. The PERM section can carry a different as-of date than the PWD section, so read both dates at flag.dol.gov/processingtimes.
• 2
  Case status. Use the FLAG Case Status Search for cases filed in FLAG. Cases filed before May 31, 2023 are in the legacy system at plc.doleta.gov.
• 3
  Visa Bulletin. The State Department typically publishes the next month's bulletin in the middle of the month. Track each employee's priority date against the published cutoffs.

PERM involves several dates that move on different schedules: the PWD queue, recruitment windows, the DOL review queue, the 180-day I-140 deadline, and the Visa Bulletin. WayLit can centralize case milestones, government-queue updates, employee communications, and coordination with WayLit's partner immigration attorneys so HR does not have to maintain that tracking manually.

October 2026 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 and EB-3 cutoffs moved back for most countries

PERM certification is one stage of a longer wait. To finish the green card, the employee's priority date must be earlier than the Final Action Date for their category and country of chargeability, which is usually the country of birth but may differ in some cases. The priority date generally comes from the filing date of the certified ETA Form 9089 (20 CFR 656.30(a)).

The October bulletin covers the start of fiscal year 2027. The bulletin says some Rest of World categories retrogressed and calls the retrogressions necessary. EB-1 is omitted below because it does not require PERM.

Final Action Dates, October 2026

Source: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin for October 2026. Prior-month comparison from the September 2026 Visa Bulletin. Mexico shares the dates in the first column for EB-2 and EB-3 this month. The first column does not apply to separately listed countries such as the Philippines.

Dates for Filing, October 2026

The Dates for Filing chart may provide a later cutoff date than the Final Action Dates chart, allowing an otherwise eligible employee to file Form I-485 before a visa number is available for final approval. USCIS announces each month which chart applies to Form I-485 filings. USCIS says employment-based adjustment-of-status applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart in October 2026. In September, USCIS required the Final Action Dates chart. Final approval still depends on the Final Action Date.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin for October 2026; USCIS adjustment of status filing charts, page last reviewed September 28, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What the data does not tell you yet

• Audit timing. DOL lists "N/A" for the audit review average. No official figure exists to plan around.
• DOL date mismatch. The PERM section of the DOL page is dated September 22, 2026. The PWD section is dated August 31, 2026. DOL says it updates the page in the first work week of each month, so a September 22 date is unusual, and DOL does not explain it. Check the dates on the page when you use these numbers.
• Future PWD and PERM speed. The current three-to-four-month PWD lag and the 336-day average describe the recent past. DOL publishes no forecast, so neither number predicts a specific case.
• Future Visa Bulletin movement. The October bulletin does not say when EB-2 and EB-3 will move again. Dates may move backward or forward in the coming months.
• Prevailing wage rule. We found no final rule and no effective date for the March 27, 2026 proposal. We do not know when or whether it will be finalized, or whether the percentiles will change.
• PERM modernization rule. DOL submitted the proposed rule for federal regulatory review on September 14, 2026, and the review is pending. The text is not public, so we do not know when it will publish or what it will change.

Sources

• DOL FLAG: PERM and Prevailing Wage Processing Times. PWD data as of August 31, 2026. PERM data as of September 22, 2026.
• DOL FLAG: Case Status Search
• DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification: PERM Frequently Asked Questions (recruitment before the PWD)
• 20 CFR Part 656: Labor Certification for the Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United States (sections 656.15, 656.17, 656.24, 656.30, 656.40)
• U.S. Department of State: Visa Bulletin for October 2026
• U.S. Department of State: Visa Bulletin for September 2026
• USCIS: Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin (last reviewed September 28, 2026)
• Federal Register: Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals (proposed rule, March 27, 2026)
• Unified Agenda: RIN 1205-AC29, Modernizing the Labor Market Test
• Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: regulatory review listing (RIN 1205-AC29, received September 14, 2026, pending)

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult qualified immigration counsel before making decisions about your sponsored workforce.