The Labor Department has posted processing times current as of Dec. 31 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 May and earlier, and appeals filed in December and earlier are being reviewed for reconsideration.

Average PERM processing times in December:

  • Adjudication – 121 days.
  • Audit review – 243 days.

PWD processing: The National Prevailing Wage Center is currently processing requests filed in October and earlier for H-1B cases and PERM cases. Redeterminations are being considered on appeals filed in December and earlier for H-1B cases and November and earlier for PERM cases. Center director reviews are being conducted on appeals filed in November and earlier for both H1B and PERM cases.

Average times for issuance of prevailing wage determinations in December:

  • H-1B – 69 days (OES), 86 days (non-OES).
  • PERM – 69 days (OES), 80 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 August and earlier and is awaiting prevailing wage determinations for requests filed in October 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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