As of August 2026, the Department of Labor takes an average of 372 calendar days to decide a PERM application once it is filed. Before that filing, the prevailing wage stage currently runs about three months and recruitment takes two to three more. End to end, a typical employer-sponsored Green Card case should plan on roughly a year and a half to two years for the PERM phase alone. Where that time actually goes differs by stage, and every figure below comes from the Department of Labor’s own published data, dated to its source.
Current DOL PERM Processing Times (August 2026)
The Department of Labor publishes its PERM queue on its processing times page and refreshes it in the first week of each month. The latest figures:
| What DOL reports | Current figure | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst review queue | Adjudicating applications filed September 2025 | August 20, 2026 |
| Average days to decision | 372 calendar days (July 2026 determinations) | August 20, 2026 |
| Audit review queue | Reviewing cases filed December 2025; no average published | August 20, 2026 |
| Reconsideration requests | Reviewing appeals from April 2026 | August 20, 2026 |
| Prevailing wage requests (PERM) | Processing April 2026 requests (OEWS wage source), March 2026 (other sources) | June 30, 2026 |
Two readings matter. First, the average PERM wait is now over a year, not the eight to ten months it was in earlier years. Second, the prevailing wage stage has sped up considerably: DOL is deciding requests filed only a few months ago.
The Four PERM Steps and How Long Each Takes
PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management, the Department of Labor process that confirms employing a foreign worker permanently will not hurt the wages, working conditions, or job opportunities of US workers. A DOL-approved PERM certification is a mandatory precondition for the EB-2 and EB-3 routes: without it, the employer cannot file the immigrant petition at all. What the application involves and how to prepare it is covered in our PERM application guide; here we focus on the clock.
Step 1: Prevailing Wage Determination (About 3 Months Right Now)
The employer asks DOL’s National Prevailing Wage Center to set the minimum wage for the position, based on the job duties, the minimum requirements, and the work location. The employer must commit to paying at least this wage.
This stage was long the slowest part of pre-filing work, with waits stretching past half a year. The current picture is better: as of June 30, 2026, DOL is processing PERM prevailing wage requests filed in April 2026 where the standard OEWS wage source is used, and March 2026 requests for other wage sources. That is roughly a three month turnaround. One timing detail to plan around: a determination is valid for a period the wage center sets, between 90 days and one year, so recruitment and filing have to fit inside that window.
Step 2: Recruitment (2 to 3 Months, Set Largely by Rule)
How long recruitment takes is mostly fixed by regulation rather than backlogs. The employer must run a State Workforce Agency job order, place two Sunday print advertisements, post the notice at the workplace, and, for professional positions, complete three additional recruitment steps. After the advertising ends comes a mandatory 30 day waiting period in which any qualified US applicant can come forward.
With the 30 day posting run and the 30 day quiet period, the recruitment phase has a minimum of about 60 days, and in practice most employers need two to three months to run it cleanly. If no qualified, willing, and available US worker emerges, the case can move to filing.
Step 3: Filing ETA Form 9089
The employer files ETA Form 9089 electronically with DOL. It records the position, the stated minimum requirements, the recruitment results, the offered wage, and the worker’s qualifications. The filing date becomes the priority date: the applicant’s place in the visa queue for the rest of the Green Card process.
Filing itself is instant, but precision here drives everything later. The stated requirements must be the genuine minimums for the job; requirements tailored to the worker’s CV are a direct path to audit or denial, and inconsistencies between the form and the recruitment record are what reviews latch onto.
Step 4: DOL Review (372 Days on Average, More If Audited)
DOL works applications in the order received. For determinations issued in July 2026 the average was 372 calendar days, and the analyst queue currently sits on cases filed in September 2025. A file can also be pulled into audit, in substance a check of the work already done, such as copies of the placed advertisements. Audits extend the timeline; DOL is not currently publishing an average for audited cases. Denied employers can request reconsideration, where DOL is presently reviewing appeals submitted in April 2026.
Can the wait be shortened? Not at this stage: DOL offers no premium processing for PERM. Expedited handling exists only later, at the USCIS petition stage.
What Makes a PERM Case Slower or Faster
Beyond the published queues, four case-level factors move the clock. Complex or unusual job descriptions draw closer review, because DOL checks that the role is not defined narrowly to exclude US workers. An employer’s filing history matters; past errors invite scrutiny. Random audits can reach even well-prepared files and add months. And preparation quality decides whether the case moves once: inaccurate duties, missing recruitment records, outdated forms, or inconsistent details are the common self-inflicted delays. One cost rule supports clean preparation: US law requires the employer to bear all PERM advertising and attorney costs, so cutting corners on the recruitment record saves the employee nothing.
The Realistic End-to-End Timeline
| Stage | Typical time (August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Prevailing wage determination | 2 to 4 months |
| Recruitment and quiet period | 2 to 3 months |
| DOL review of ETA Form 9089 | 12 to 13 months at the current 372 day average |
| Total before the USCIS stages | About 17 to 20 months |
An audit adds to this, by an amount DOL does not currently publish. These numbers shift monthly, so treat the DOL page as the live source and this table as the August 2026 snapshot.
After PERM: I-140, the Visa Bulletin, and the 2026 Evidence Rules
PERM approval starts the USCIS phase rather than ending the journey. The employer files Form I-140, where USCIS examines two things: the employer’s ability to pay the DOL-set wage and the worker’s possession of the qualifications stated on the certification. Premium processing is available for I-140 with a 15 business day clock, though a Request for Evidence stops and resets it. Standard I-140 times vary by service center; see how long the I-140 stage takes for the current medians, or check your center’s posted figure on the USCIS processing times tool.
Timing after I-140 depends on the priority date. The final stage, Form I-485 inside the US or consular processing abroad, can only proceed once the monthly Visa Bulletin’s cutoff passes your priority date; when it is current, I-485 can even be filed concurrently with I-140.
One 2026 change raises the stakes on file quality. Under the USCIS evidence standards policy effective August 5, 2026, a filing missing its required initial evidence can be denied outright, without a Request for Evidence first. Where an RFE is issued, the response deadline is set in the notice, with a regulatory ceiling of 84 days. Separately, since the May 2026 policy memo, officers weigh adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit, including whether consular processing was available. The practical conclusion for the whole PERM-to-Green-Card sequence is the same at every stage: complete, consistent files, submitted once. If your case runs through EB-3 sponsorship, our EB-3 visa service page explains how we build and manage the file.
How to Keep Your PERM Timeline on Track
- Start the prevailing wage request early. It is the first domino, and its validity window (90 days to one year) frames when recruitment and filing must happen.
- Write the job description to the genuine minimums. Clear, accurate duties prevent both DOL questions and downstream I-140 mismatches.
- Document recruitment as if an audit is certain. Every advertisement, posting, and resume review belongs in the file; audits are, in substance, a request for exactly these records.
- Track the monthly DOL update. The processing times page changes in the first week of each month; planning against last year’s numbers is how timelines slip.
- Prepare the file to be decided once. Under the 2026 evidence rules, an incomplete filing can now end in denial rather than a second chance.
Planning a PERM Case?
A PERM timeline is manageable when every stage is prepared before its clock starts. We plan the prevailing wage, recruitment, and filing sequence around your dates, build the file to survive an audit, and carry it through the I-140 and Green Card stages. Contact us for a case-specific assessment.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every immigration case depends on its own facts. For an assessment of your specific situation, consult an immigration attorney.
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