Because so many people call and write to me about PERM timelines, I think it will be useful if I provide a short explanation, so that this information is more widely available.

The good news is that the Department of Labor now seems to have achieved a consistent processing interval for PERM cases of ten days or less. For some cases, we have received approvals within 48 hours of filing, with the hard copy of the approval arriving a day or two later.

Let’s review the requirements for filing a PERM labor certification. Recall that there are different categories: non-professional positions, professional positions, and faculty positions. The recruiting requirements vary, depending upon which category applies. I will discuss faculty PERMs in another posting as they have unique requirements.

Non-professional positions require two print ads in Sunday newspapers (unless the local paper has no Sunday edition), a 30 day state job service listing, and a 10 business day internal company posting of a notice of job availability.
Professional positions require two print ads in Sunday newspapers (though the employer may substitute an ad in a professional journal for one of the newspaper ads), a 30 day state job service listing, a 10 business day internal company posting of a notice of job availability, and three additional recruiting steps from a list of eight found in the DOL regulations.

The employer must conduct this recruiting within the six months immediately prior to filing the PERM. With the exception of one of the three additional steps required for professional positions, all recruiting activities must be done at least 30 days prior to the filing.

It is thus possible for an employer to complete all required recruiting within two months, including the 30 waiting period before filing.

The employer must register with the Department of Labor via the electronic registration system within PERM. The DOL will then verify that the employer is a legitimate business entity before allowing the employer or its attorney to file a PERM application. This process can be done at any time prior to filing.

When the PERM application is filed, the DOL will contact the employer to verify that the filing was authorized. The employer must respond to this e-mail or the application will be purged. The sooner the employer responds, the sooner the application will be adjudicated. If the employer does not respond within a week to ten days, the application will be purged from the system by the DOL.

When the employer does respond, the DOL will proceed to adjudicate the application. The possible outcomes are approval, denial, and audit. In all three instances, the decision will be shown on the DOL website, via the secure employer account access.

The DOL will then send a hard copy of the decision to the employer. If it is an approval, the employer will receive a printout of the entire PERM application, which must then be signed by both the employer and employee. If it is a denial, the employer will receive a letter explaining the reason for the denial. If it is an audit, the employer will receive a letter requesting copies of all of the recruiting materials, resumes of the candidates, and all other documents related to the recruiting process.

If the employer, employee, and attorney work closely together, the entire process can be completed easily within two and a half to three months.