PERM, prevailing wage processing updates

The Labor Department has posted processing times current as of Nov. 30 for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.

PERM Processing: Applications filed in September 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 October and earlier are being reviewed for reconsideration.

Average PERM processing times in November:

• Adjudication – 65 days.
• Audit review – 200 days.

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

Average times for issuance of prevailing wage determinations:

• H-1B – 101 days (OES), 115 days (non-OES) – reported for November.
• PERM – 100 days (OES), 115 days (non-OES) – reported for September.

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

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