PERM, prevailing wage determination processing updates

The Labor Department has posted processing times current as of Feb. 28 for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.

PERM processing: Applications filed in August and earlier are now being adjudicated, according to the department. Audit reviews are being conducted on applications filed in June and earlier, and appeals filed in December and earlier are being reviewed for reconsideration.

Average PERM processing times in February:

• Adjudication – 156 days.
• Audit review – 250 days.

PWD processing: The National Prevailing Wage Center is currently processing requests filed in December and earlier for H-1B and PERM cases. Redeterminations are being considered on appeals filed in January and earlier for H-1B and PERM cases. Center director reviews are being conducted on appeals filed in December and earlier for PERM cases. The department reported that it had no center director reviews pending for H-1B cases as of Feb. 28.

Average times for issuance of prevailing wage determinations in February:

• H-1B – 72 days (OES), 71 days (non-OES).
• PERM – 72 days (OES), 72 days (non-OES).

The Labor Department reports PERM and PWD processing timeframes on its iCERT page.

BAL Analysis: BAL’s internal case tracking is mostly consistent with the Labor Department processing times. BAL is seeing approvals for PERM applications filed in September and is awaiting PWDs for requests filed in December and earlier.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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