What the PERM process is, how long each stage takes in 2026, and what the company and the employee must do at every turn. Click any stage to open it, follow the branches when something goes differently, or press play and watch the whole journey.
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Everything starts with the job, not the person. We define the position the company actually needs: title, duties, minimum education and experience, worksite and salary range. The job’s minimum requirements decide the category. A job that needs a master’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree plus five years of progressive experience, can qualify for EB-2. A job that needs a bachelor’s degree or at least two years of training or experience is EB-3. A job with lower requirements is EB-3 other workers.
Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.17(h), (i)(1); INA 203(b)(2), (b)(3); 8 CFR 204.5(k), (l)
Choose the category and scenario. The bars show typical ranges in months based on government processing data checked on September 29, 2026. They are not a promise: every case and every month is different.
The day the PERM application is filed becomes the employee’s priority date. Think of it as a numbered ticket. Each month the State Department’s Visa Bulletin announces which tickets are being served. Two numbers matter:
20132015201720192021202320252027
This month’s final action cutoff is 2 years and 4 months behind today’s calendar. That gap is not a forecast: dates can move forward, stand still or move back.
| Employee’s country of birth | Final Action Date | Date for Filing |
|---|---|---|
| All other countries | May 15, 2024 | Aug 1, 2024 |
| China (mainland-born) | Jan 8, 2022 | Apr 1, 2024 |
| India | Jan 1, 2014 | Jan 15, 2015 |
| Mexico | May 15, 2024 | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Philippines | Aug 15, 2023 | Jan 1, 2024 |
Source: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin for October 2026.
Tap a card to see the reality.
The new fiscal year starts with EB-2 at January 1, 2025 and EB-3 at May 15, 2024 for final action (all other countries). USCIS accepts the Dates for Filing chart in October: March 15, 2026 for EB-2 and August 1, 2024 for EB-3.
DOL’s proposed rule “Modernizing the Labor Market Test” entered OMB review on September 14, 2026. Nothing has changed yet. Employers must follow the current recruitment rules until a final rule takes effect.
A DOL proposal published March 27, 2026 would raise the four wage levels (Level I from the 17th to the 34th percentile, for example). It is still a proposal. If finalized as written, it would apply to prevailing wage requests pending on its effective date.
Average analyst review was 336 days in August 2026, down from roughly 500 days earlier in 2026. In earlier years, reviews took only a few months, so times can change in either direction.
Everything starts with the job, not the person. We define the position the company actually needs: title, duties, minimum education and experience, worksite and salary range. The job’s minimum requirements decide the category. A job that needs a master’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree plus five years of progressive experience, can qualify for EB-2. A job that needs a bachelor’s degree or at least two years of training or experience is EB-3. A job with lower requirements is EB-3 other workers.
Time: 1–3 weeks · Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.17(h), (i)(1); INA 203(b)(2), (b)(3); 8 CFR 204.5(k), (l)
We test the case before a single form is filed. Résumé: does the employee meet every requirement with experience gained before joining this employer, or in a job that was substantially different? Duties: do the duties match one occupation (SOC code) and the level of the requirements? Company: can the company show the ability to pay the offered wage from the priority date until the green card, through net income, net current assets or wages already paid to the employee?
Time: 1–3 weeks · Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.17(i); 8 CFR 204.5(g)(2)
If the employee gained the required experience only in this same job with this employer, it usually does not count. The options are to show that the earlier role was not substantially comparable (the employee spent no more than half of the time on the same duties), to show that it is no longer feasible for the company to train a new worker for the job, to rely on experience from earlier employers, to redefine the position honestly around the company’s real needs, or to wait until the employee has the experience from a qualifying source.
USCIS asks whether the company could pay the offered wage from the priority date onward. It accepts three main tests: the company already pays the employee at least the offered wage, its net income covers the wage, or its net current assets cover it. Companies with 100 or more employees may submit a statement from a financial officer. A company with several sponsored employees must show it can pay all of them.
The employer asks the Department of Labor for the prevailing wage: the minimum salary for this occupation, at this skill level, in this area. DOL places the job in an occupation (SOC code) and one of four wage levels based on the requirements and duties. The offered wage must be at least this amount, and the company must be ready to pay it once the employee starts the job as a permanent resident.
Time: About 4 months (DOL was issuing May 2026 requests on August 31, 2026) · Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.40
If DOL chose the wrong occupation or wage level, the employer can ask the director of the National Prevailing Wage Center to review the determination within 30 days of its issue date. The review is limited to the information already submitted. If the director does not change it, the employer can ask BALCA to review it within 30 days. Alternatively, the employer can file a new request supported by a qualifying employer-provided wage survey. The company cannot shrink the stated requirements while still needing a more senior employee.
Before a foreign employee can be sponsored, the company must show that no able, willing, qualified and available U.S. worker applied for the job. The standard steps: a 30-day job order with the state workforce agency, two Sunday newspaper advertisements, and for professional jobs three more recruitment steps (for example the company website, a job search website, or campus recruiting). A Notice of Filing is posted at the worksite for 10 consecutive business days and in any in-house media the employer normally uses. The job order, both newspaper advertisements and the Notice of Filing must be completed at least 30 days before filing. Only one of the additional steps may take place within those final 30 days, and no step may be more than 180 days old on the filing date.
Time: 60–90 days, including the 30-day waiting period · Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.17(e), 656.10(d)
The company is not required to hire the U.S. applicant, but it cannot file this PERM application. Options: pause, review whether the position was defined correctly, and run a fresh recruitment later if the need continues. Filing anyway, or rejecting a qualified applicant for a pretextual reason, risks denial, debarment and other penalties.
The PERM application, Form ETA-9089, is filed online with DOL. It describes the job, the wage, the requirements and the recruitment, and it includes the employee’s qualifications. The filing date becomes the employee’s priority date: the place in the green card line.
Time: Filing day · Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.17(a), 656.11(b), 656.10(f)
A DOL analyst reviews the application. Most cases are decided without contact. Some are selected for audit, either at random or because something in the application raised a question. Review times were close to 500 days earlier in 2026 and are now around 11 months. In earlier years they were a few months. They change, so we check the official numbers every month.
Time: Average 336 days (August 2026). DOL was reviewing December 2025 filings on September 22, 2026. · Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.24; AC21 section 106(a)
An audit letter asks for proof: the advertisements, the job order, the Notice of Filing, the résumés received, the recruitment report and the reasons each U.S. applicant was rejected. The response is due within 30 days, and the Certifying Officer may grant one extension of up to 30 days. Missing the deadline leads to denial. After review, DOL certifies the case, denies it, or orders supervised recruitment.
Within 30 days the employer can ask the Certifying Officer to reconsider, or ask the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) to review the denial. BALCA reviews only the existing record. A reconsideration request may add only documents DOL already received, or documents that existed at filing and were kept in the file but that the employer had no earlier chance to present. While a BALCA appeal is pending, a new PERM for the same employee in the same occupation cannot be filed. Often the faster path is to fix the problem and start a new PERM, which means a new prevailing wage, new recruitment and a new priority date, unless an earlier I-140 approval already secured one.
The certified PERM is valid for 180 days. Within that time the employer files Form I-140, the immigrant petition, with USCIS. It proves three things: the certified job, the employee’s qualifications as of the priority date, and the company’s ability to pay. Filing fee: $715 plus an Asylum Program Fee of $600, or $300 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees, and $0 for nonprofits. Premium processing costs $2,965.
Time: 15 business days with premium processing; about 2.5 to 8 months without it, depending on the category (September 2026) · Legal basis: 20 CFR 656.30(b), 656.12(b); 8 CFR 204.5
The most common requests ask for more proof of ability to pay, or better experience letters. A complete, organized response usually resolves the case. USCIS can now deny some filings without first sending an RFE, which makes a strong initial filing more important.
The employer can appeal, file a motion to reopen or reconsider, or file a new I-140. Because the certification was filed with USCIS within its 180-day validity, a new I-140 can generally be filed with a copy of the same certification even after the 180 days have passed, unless the certification was invalidated for fraud or willful misrepresentation.
An approved I-140 puts the employee in line, but a green card number must be available. Each month the State Department publishes the Visa Bulletin. Compare the priority date with the cutoff for the category (EB-2 or EB-3) and the country of birth. If the priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date, the case is current. Countries with high demand, such as India and China, wait much longer.
Time: From zero to many years, depending on category and country of birth · Legal basis: INA 203(b), 203(h); 8 CFR 204.5(e)
While waiting, the employee keeps a valid status. H-1B workers with an approved I-140 whose visa is not yet available can usually extend in three-year steps beyond the six-year limit. Every month, compare the priority date with the new bulletin. Travel, job changes and family changes should be discussed with counsel first.
Before the I-140 is approved, leaving usually ends the case, and a new employer must start again. After the I-140 is approved, the priority date is generally kept for a new petition, but the new employer usually needs its own PERM. If an I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more, the employee may be able to move to a same or similar job and keep the case (Form I-485 Supplement J).
An employee who is in the United States in lawful status usually applies to adjust status with Form I-485. An employee abroad, or one who is not eligible to adjust, goes through consular processing: the National Visa Center, then an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate.
Time: Decision point · Legal basis: INA 245(a), 245(k), 212(a)(9)(B)
When the chart that USCIS names for the month is current, the employee, spouse and unmarried children under 21 file Form I-485. Each applicant must include a completed medical exam (Form I-693, signed by a USCIS civil surgeon), or USCIS will reject the filing. They can ask for a work permit and travel document while the case is pending. Biometrics follow, and sometimes an interview. After 180 days pending, the employee may be able to change to a same or similar job.
Time: Often many months; varies by field office · Legal basis: INA 245; 8 CFR 245.2
USCIS sends the approved I-140 to the National Visa Center. The employee pays the fees, submits Form DS-260 and civil documents, completes a medical exam, and attends an interview. After approval, the immigrant visa is placed in the passport. The green card is mailed after entry to the United States.
Time: Several months after the case reaches the National Visa Center · Legal basis: INA 221, 222, 212(a)(9)(B)
The employee and family become lawful permanent residents. The employee is expected to take the sponsored job, and the employer pays at least the offered wage. After five years of permanent residence, the employee can usually apply for U.S. citizenship.
Time: The finish line · Legal basis: INA 316, 319(a); 20 CFR 656.10(f)
PERM is the Department of Labor’s labor certification program. An employer shows that no qualified U.S. worker is available for a permanent job, at a wage at least equal to the prevailing wage, before sponsoring a foreign employee for an EB-2 or EB-3 green card. After certification, the employer files Form I-140, and the employee files for the green card when the priority date is current.
As a rough guide: about 4 months for the prevailing wage, 2 to 3 months of recruitment, and about 11 months of DOL review (336 days on average in August 2026). An audit can add many months. The I-140 then takes 15 business days with premium processing. The wait for a green card number depends on the Visa Bulletin.
The employer must pay the costs of the labor certification, including attorney fees and recruitment advertising, and cannot be reimbursed by the employee. The law allows the employee to pay I-140 and green card application costs, although many employers pay those too.
It is the date the PERM application was filed with DOL. It marks the employee’s place in line. When the Visa Bulletin’s cutoff for the category and country of birth passes that date, the case is current.
DOL asks for the recruitment documents. The employer must respond within 30 days. DOL then certifies the case, denies it or orders supervised recruitment. An audit adds months, and in some periods it has added close to a year.
The job’s minimum requirements decide the category, not the employee’s credentials alone. A job that requires a master’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree plus five years of progressive experience, can be EB-2. A job that requires a bachelor’s degree or at least two years of experience is EB-3.
We run PERM programs for companies: position design, wage strategy, recruitment, audit-ready files and I-140s, in English and Turkish. Calls and emails are answered within one business day, with direct attorney access.
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DOL FLAG: PERM and prevailing wage processing times · U.S. Department of State: Visa Bulletin for October 2026 · 20 CFR Part 656 (PERM regulations) · USCIS: Form I-140
This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Attorney Advertising. Processing times, fees and Visa Bulletin dates were checked on September 29, 2026 and change often. Every case depends on its own facts, and no attorney can guarantee a result. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
