How to read PERM processing times in 2026

What “PERM processing time” actually means

Search results mix two questions. PERMTime answers the first one with latest published FLAG data, then maps the second so it does not overwrite the first.

1. How long is DOL taking on filed PERM cases? That is Form ETA-9089 on flag.dol.gov/processingtimes.
2. How long is the whole employer-sponsored path? That adds prevailing wage, recruitment, optional audit, I-140, the visa bulletin, and I-485 or consular processing. Only some of those are DOL clocks, and none of them is a remaining-wait calculator by itself.

On the FLAG PERM table, three facts stay apart:

• Current public review point: the filing month DOL says it is adjudicating now (November 2025 for standard review).
• Recent average processing time: calendar days across recently processed applications (372 days). This is not your remaining wait.
• Evidence-backed public period: a month range shown only when recent comparable public outcomes meet published evidence rules. Right now that evidence is not enough, so the checker stays queue-only. See how this works.

The current 2026 DOL queue

DOL updates FLAG processing times through the month. The table is not strictly FIFO: cases filed in the same month do not always finish in the same order. Audited cases leave the standard queue.

PERM rows: FLAG through August 28, 2026. PWD rows: FLAG through June 30, 2026. Prior FLAG months and the current PERM processing times use the same records.

The other clocks people fold into “PERM time”

These steps matter for a green-card plan. They are not the FLAG PERM processing-time number, and PERMTime does not add them into one remaining-wait total.

For the steps before a case is filed, see before you file.

What PERM is, in 60 seconds

PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) is the Department of Labor labor certification for most employer-sponsored EB-2 and EB-3 green cards. The employer files Form ETA-9089 through FLAG. It is not a visa and not the immigrant petition. It is a labor-market test: no able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. worker, and the hire will not adversely affect U.S. wages and working conditions.

EB-1 and EB-2 National Interest Waiver cases skip PERM and go to I-140. Everyone else on the employer-sponsored EB-2/EB-3 path generally needs a certified ETA-9089 before I-140. PERM labor certification covers what this site will and will not infer from public data.

How to place your own filing month

Compare the month Form ETA-9089 was submitted with the current public review point.

• Filed earlier than November 2025: the public standard queue has already moved past that month.
• Filed later: the public review point has not reached that month yet.
• Same month: around the current public point.

Same-month filings still do not finish together. This still is not FLAG case status. Enter the filing month in the checker to see the comparison on one page.

How to check your PERM case status

Beneficiaries do not get a FLAG login. Most updates come through the employer or attorney.

1. Official FLAG lookup. Case numbers look like A-XXXXX-XXXXX. Logged-in employer and attorney accounts can see pending, audit, certified, denied, or withdrawn. Use DOL FLAG Case Status Search. PERMTime never asks for that number. The case status guide explains the data boundary.
2. Public queue snapshot. Compare your filing month with the month DOL is working. That is what the checker does with the latest published FLAG table.
3. Unofficial community trackers. Self-reported boards can sanity-check the official month. They are incomplete and not DOL. If a case is far past the published review month with no movement, that is a question for counsel, not a second public table.

Audit is a different public queue

If DOL issued an audit notice, stop using the standard analyst month. The relevant public marker is the audit review month (currently around December 2025). This update does not publish an audit average, so PERMTime will not invent one.

Common audit triggers include requirements that look tailored without business necessity, owner or family relationships, recent layoffs in the occupation, and duties that do not match the SOC code. An audit is a documentation request. The employer was already required to keep the recruitment file (generally five years). Choose the audit path in the checker so the comparison uses the audit table.

What can make PERM take longer

The FLAG analyst month is the clean, non-audited public marker. These events change the clock. None of them has a trustworthy “add N months” number on the FLAG PERM table.

• Audit. The case leaves the standard queue. Use the audit table, not standard month plus a blog add-on.
• Denial and refile. A new recruitment cycle and a new ETA-9089 are typical. The queue position does not carry over.
• Withdrawal and refile. Same effect if recruitment must be redone.
• Supervised recruitment. DOL can require recruitment under its supervision. That is a different process, not a longer analyst average.
• PWD challenge. Redetermination and Center Director review are separate PWD queues (currently around April 2026 and May 2026).
• A qualified, willing U.S. applicant. That is a stop, not a delay. The labor market test failed; there is nothing to appeal into a faster FLAG month.

Can you speed PERM up?

No. PERM has no premium processing and no routine expedite. Paying USCIS after certification does not move DOL.

The only practical “faster” is avoiding extra queues: a job definition that can be justified, recruitment that matches the 20 CFR 656 rules, and no recent layoff in the occupation. If the priority date is current when PERM is certified, I-140 and I-485 may be filed together — that shortens the USCIS back end, not the DOL queue. PERMTime will not show a decision month unless comparable public outcomes exist.

What happens after PERM is certified

Certification is not a green card. For many EB-2 and EB-3 cases it is the first long DOL wait; for backlogged countries it is a small fraction of the journey.

1. 180 days to file I-140. A certified PERM generally expires for I-140 purposes if that window is missed.
2. I-140 at USCIS. Regular times vary by classification. Premium processing is 15 business days when available. The I-907 fee for eligible I-140 classifications is $2,965 as of March 1, 2026.
3. Wait for a current priority date. The date locks when ETA-9089 is filed. Most countries wait months; India and China can wait years. Track the monthly Visa Bulletin, not FLAG.
4. I-485 in the U.S. or DS-260 abroad. Separate USCIS or consular clocks.

PERMTime stops at public DOL PERM context. It does not estimate I-140, visa bulletin, or green-card-in-hand dates.

How PERM interacts with the H-1B 6-year clock

Many PERM beneficiaries are on H-1B, which has a 6-year cap. AC21 provides two well-known extension routes that depend on PERM or I-140. This is planning context, not a determination of eligibility.

For §106(a), PERM has to be filed, not certified, 365 days before the 6-year mark. That is why employers work backward from the current PWD month, recruitment calendar, and ETA-9089 queue — not from a frozen 22–24 month blog total. PERMTime does not calculate remaining H-1B time.

When to start PERM (working backward)

Use latest published FLAG months plus the 365-day filing rule. Typical planning questions:

• “File before my 6-year H-1B mark.” Count back the AC21 365-day buffer, then current PWD lag, then recruitment and quiet period. Do not substitute a 24–30 month rule of thumb for this month’s FLAG tables.
• “Lock a priority date.” The date sets when ETA-9089 is filed. Starting PWD earlier does not lock it.
• “H-1B has 18 months left and PERM has not started.” The immediate question is whether §106(a) can still be met. That is an employer/attorney timeline, not a public-queue estimate.
• “EB-1 or EB-2 NIW.” PERM does not apply. Those categories file I-140 directly.

If the case is already filed, skip the start-date math. Compare the filing month with the current queue.

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