The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates as of January 4, 2012.  Most notable is the slight decrease (or improvement) in the processing time for regular PERM applications — to approximately three months.  The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: October 2011.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in October of 2011.  There is notable improvement (of one month) in the processing times, compared to the December 6, 2011 report.  Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be around three months.   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.
• Audited applications: April 2011.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of April 2011.  There is no change in the date for this type, suggesting that there is a delay of at least one month in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately eight to ten months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.
• Appealed applications (requests for reconsideration): April 2010.  DOL is processing PERM appeals (requests for reconsideration to the certifying officer) which have a priority date of April 2010.   There is notable improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Comparing with the December 6, 2011 report, this category has improved the processing time by two months.   Accordingly, PERM requests for reconsideration are processed approximately 18-20 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

The January 2012 PERM processing times report shows a very slight improvement in the regular and appealed PERM processing times, while there is a slight delay in the audited PERM processing times.   We hope that DOL would be able to continue to improve the PERM processing times over the next weeks and months.  We also hope the significant improvement in PERM audit and appeal processing times over the fall would continue in the winter and spring as well.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates as of December 6, 2011.  Most notable is the slight increase (or delay) in the processing time for regular PERM applications — approximately four to five months.  The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: August 2011.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in August of 2011.  There is no change, compared to the November 1, 2011 report, suggesting that there is a slight delay in the regular PERM processing times. Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be between three and four months.   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.
• Audited applications: April 2011.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of April 2011.  This is a very small advancement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately seven to nine months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.  We welcome this sign of (slight) improvement in PERM audit processing times.
• Appealed applications: February 2010.  DOL is processing PERM appeals (requests for reconsideration to the certifying officer) which have a priority date of February 2010.   There is notable improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Comparing with the November 1, 2011 report, this category has imporived the processing time by five months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 20-22 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

The December 2011 PERM processing times report shows a very slight improvement in the regular and audited PERM processing times while the appealed PERM processing times improve by five months.   We hope that DOL would be able to continue to improve the PERM processing times over the next weeks and months.  We also hope the significant improvement in PERM audit and appeal processing times over the fall would continue in the winter as well.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates as of November 1, 2011.  Most notable is the slight increase (or delay) in the processing time for regular PERM applications — approximately four to five months.  The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: August 2011.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in August of 2011.  This suggests that there is a slight improvement in the regular PERM processing times. Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be between three and four months.   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.
• Audited applications: March 2011.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of March  2011.  This is still an improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately seven to nine months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.  We welcome this sign of improvement in PERM audit processing times.
• Appealed applications: September 2009.  DOL is processing PERM appeals (requests for reconsideration to the certifying officer) which have a priority date of September 2009.   There is slight improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 24-26 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

The November 2011 PERM processing times report shows a slight improvement in the regular and appealed PERM processing times while the audited PERM processing times remain stable.    We hope that DOL would be able to continue to improve the PERM processing times over the next weeks and months.  We also hope the significant improvement in PERM audit and appeal processing times over the fall would continue in the winter as well.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

As of October 5, 2011, DOL has shared some important statistics about their processing of PERM and LCA filings.

PERM Updates

1. Number of filings.   There have been 65,000 PERM applications filed over the year, an increase over the previous similar period.   The number of PERM applications processed during the same period was 73,000, which makes a decrease in the backlog of PERM cases by more than 50%.   More than half (56%) of the pending cases are in analyst review stage, 3-4% are in supervised recruitment, 25% are in audit, 14% on appeal and 2-3% are in sponsorship verification.     DOL has noted that audits and supervised recruitment cases are growing.
2. Processing times.  The current processing times are June 2011 for analyst review, February 2011 for audit, April 2009 for appeals and “current” for government errors.    The desired targets for PERM cases are 90 days for analyst review and 180 days average for all PERM cases.
3. Supervised recruitment.    Audits and supervised recruitment continue to increase.   55% of supervised recruitment cases are ultimately denied (of which 84% are lower-skilled and financial industry cases).   21% are withdrawn and 24% are certified.     Areas of focus for supervised recruitment are lower-skilled positions and positions in the financial sector plus areas where there are demonstrable layoffs of workers.   According to DOL, if an area shows double-digit unemployment, then there is a higher than average PERM audit/supervised recruitment chance (after accounting for the job type, etc.) — essentially, DOL takes into account employment trends across geographic areas and employment fields.

LCA Updates

1. Number of filings.   There were approximately 360,000 LCAs processed this year, of which 100% were processed within the target 7 business day window.   Approximately 8-9% are denied and most of the denials are due to FEIN verification mismatch, wage source, tracking number problems and boxes checked on the LCA.
2. FEIN verifications.   Target of processing is two business days and the DOL Chicago processing office receives approximately 140 requests for verification daily.

Prevailing Wage Determinations

DOL stated that they continue to decrease the backlog of prevailing wage determinations and, as of the end of October 2011, all PERM prevailing wage determinations should be within the “normal” processing timeframe of 60 days.   Please see our recent article on the prevailing wage processing times.

Conclusion

We appreciate that DOL is able to release these numbers on a periodic basis because they allow us to draw some (fairly reliable) predictions on the processing times.    Based on DOL reports and based on our firsthand experience from actual cases, we anticipate that PERM cases would take approximately 3-4 months.   Unfortunately, we anticipate higher PERM audits and PERM supervised recruitment cases, especially in certain areas and certain occupations.    Finally, the prevailing wage processing times are trending down and we hope to see processing times of 30-45 days soon.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance or if we can provide case analysis as part of our free initial consultation.

Background on the DOL Prevailing Wage Suspension

As a reminder, in August, DOL announced that they are temporarily suspending the issuance of non-H-2B prevailing wage determinations in an attempt to focus 100% of their resources towards completing the re-issuance of few thousand H-2B prevailing wage determinations under a court order.  Please see our August 2011 article on the prevailing wage suspension for more details.

Current Prevailing Wage Processing Times

As a result of the backlog of prevailing wage determinations, our expectations that prevailing wage determinations would take a significant period of time are confirmed.   Currently, we see prevailing wage determinations issued 10-12 weeks after filing of the request.   This is substantially higher than the 4-5 week average we used to see before DOL was ordered to redo previous H-2B prevailing wage determinations.   Our hope is that prevailing wage determination processing times would continue to go down as DOL is working through the backlog of requests.

Some PERM and H-1B Filings Continue to be Affected

Despite the fact that prevailing wage determinations are being issued, the delays of at least a couple of months for a prevailing wage determination remains a major concern for certain PERM/H-1B applicants who need to file their PERM/H-1B urgently.  Our office (along with many other immigration stakeholders) have voiced our concerns that many foreign workers who must file their PERM and/or H-1B in order to be able to fit within AC21 guidelines, expiring recruitment of other urgent reasons may be negatively affected by the slow processing of prevailing wages.   A proposal to DOL to create a procedure to accommodate expedited processing of prevailing wage requests has been submitted, but without any result (as of the time of this article).

Additionally, as a higher number of prevailing wage determinations are issued over the past and coming weeks, it is likely that a higher number of PERM cases will be filed over the upcoming few months — resulting in an increase in the PERM processing times over the next 6-9 months.

Conclusion

We welcome the fact that DOL has started processing and issuing prevailing wage determinations, and while we remain hopeful that DOL will continue allocating resources to bring prevailing wage processing times down to a month, we remain concerned that a number of foreign workers may lose PERM/H-1B benefits due to these delays.   Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance or if we can provide case analysis as part of our free initial consultation.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates as of August 22, 2011.  Most notable is the slight increase (or delay) in the processing time for regular PERM applications — approximately four to five months.  The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: May 2011.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in May of 2011.  This suggests that there is a slight increase in the regular PERM processing times. Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be between four and five months.   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.
• Audited applications: December 2010.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of December 2010.  Although this does not continue  the trend of substantial improvement in the audited PERM processing times we saw in June 2011, it is still an improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately 9 months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.  We welcome this sign of improvement in PERM audit processing times.
• Appealed applications: January 2009.  DOL is processing PERM appeals (requests for reconsideration to the certifying officer) which have a priority date of January 2009.   There is generally no change in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 30 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

The August 2011 PERM processing times report shows a slight delay in the regular PERM processing times while the remainder of the PERM processing times remain stable.    It may be disappointing to some of our clients and readers to see PERM processing times increase from as little as a couple of weeks earlier this year to four to five months today.    We hope that DOL would be able to improve the PERM processing times over the next weeks and months.  We also hope the significant improvement in PERM audit processing times over the summer would continue in the fall and winter as well.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

Background of the Need to Reprocess H-2B Prevailing Wage Determinations

Pursuant to a June 15, 2011 ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered DOL  to reissue approximately 4,000 H-2B prevailing wage determinations in order to accurately reflect the new H-2B wage rates that will apply for H-2B employment beginning on or after September 30, 2011 (the new government fiscal year). The June 15, 2011 court order is related to an August 30, 2010 decision in CATA v. Solis, where the District Court ordered DOL to put in place new H-2B prevailing wage rules.

DOL Effectively Suspends Review of All Regular Prevailing Wage Requests by Shifting All Resources

As of a few days ago, DOL has confirmed that they have shifted all of its relevant Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) resources towards complying with the June 15 court order.   By making this decision, in effect, DOL has temporarily suspended the processing of all non-court mandated prevailing wage determinations.   While it is possible that DOL would switch some of its resources back to processing regular processing prevailing wage determinations, it is possible that no prevailing wage requests would be processed until DOL clears the H-2B backlog.

A federal rule dated as of August 1, 2011 states that DOL should be able to process all H-2B prevailing wages by October 1, 2011.  DOL has also indicated that they plan on completing all 4,000 H-2B prevailing wages by August 31, 2011.   As a result, we should expect (somewhat) normal processing of prevailing wage determinations to return during the month of September.

PERM and H-1B Filings to be Affected and Possibly Delayed

As a result of the prevailing wage suspension, many PERM and H-1B cases are put on an temporary, but highly undesirable, hold.   Even if DOL returns to normal prevailing wage processing as soon as September 1, there would be a significant backlog of pending regular prevailing wage requests.    Many foreign nationals must file their PERM/H-1B applications in order to be able to fit within AC21 guidelines, expiring recruitment of other urgent reasons.    We hope that DOL would be able to designate and allow some prevailing wages to be processed in order to allow foreign nationals with deadlines to make timely filings.

Additionally, and assuming that DOL returns to normal processing in September, there would be a high number of prevailing wage determinations issued which, in a few weeks or a couple of months, would result in a higher than normal volume of PERM filings.   As a result, we expect that PERM processing times to increase over the next 4-6 months.

We would continue monitoring this situation and provide updates as they become available.   Please feel free to subscribe to our weekly newsletter or contact us if our office can be of any assistance.

Total Applications Received

It is interesting to note that for the relevant period, there were 45,000 PERM applications filed.   According  to DOL, the number of FY2011 filings represents a significant 63% increase over PERM filings compared to FY2010.  The vast majority, 43,179 were filed electronically and 1,905 were mailed-in.

Education Level

DOL provides a breakdown of the education level of active PERM cases.   Since DOL counts only active, under review cases, the baseline number is a total of 22,200 PERM cases.   Out of these active cases, 37% require a bachelor’s degree, 37% require a master’s degree, 4% require a doctorate degree, with the balance distributed among Associate degree, High School, Other or no degree requirement (yes, it is possible to file a PERM for such cases, and they represent 12% of the active PERM cases).

Processing Status

DOL also provides a breakdown of the processing status of active PERM cases.   As of May 31, 2011, these cases were 22,200 and 44% of them were in Analyst Review stage, 29% were in Audit, 24% were in Appeal, and 3% were in Sponsorship/Backlog Elimination stage.

Current PERM Processing Times

The processing times, as reported by DOL as of June 27, 2011, are as follows:

• Regular processing: April 2011.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates of April of 2011.  This suggests that there is a slight delay in the regular PERM processing.   Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be between three and four months.   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.
• Audited applications: November 2010.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of November 2010.  This is a very notable improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   In comparison with the April 2011 PERM report, this category’s processing time has advanced (improved) by a net of eleven (11) months from December 2009 to November 2010.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately 7 months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.  We welcome this sign of improvement in PERM audit processing times.
• Appealed applications: November 2008.  DOL is processing PERM appeals which have a priority date of November 2008.   There is no change in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 30 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

We continue to praise DOL as it has done a terrific job in eliminating the PERM backlog to 3-4 months and, more significantly, the audit backlog from 20+ months to 7 months.   We also note that the DOL OFLC statistics report suggests a significant (63%) increase in new PERM filings.   As a result, we expect that regular PERM processing times increase over the coming months.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates as of April 25, 2011.  Most notable is the slight increase (or delay) in the processing time for regular PERM applications — up to two (2) months.  Also, it is important to note the significant (9 months net) improvement in the PERM audit processing times.  The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: March 2011.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in March of 2011.  This suggests that there is a slight delay in the regular PERM processing (compared to one (1) months in February).   Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be between one and two months.   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.
• Audited applications: December 2009.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of December 2009.  This is a notable improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   In comparison with the February 2011 PERM report, this category’s processing time has advanced (improved) by a net of nine (9) months from January 2009 to December 2009.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately 17 months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.  We welcome this sign of improvement in PERM audit processing times.
• Appealed applications: September 2008.  DOL is processing PERM appeals which have a priority date of September 2008.   There is some slight improvement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 30 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

We continue to praise DOL as it has done a terrific job in eliminating the PERM backlog from 9-10 months an year ago to as little as a few weeks today.   We also welcome the significant improvement in PERM audit processing times.  At the same time, however, it is disappointing to see that the appealed queues move very slowly forward or remain unchanged.  We hope that DOL, after being able to consistently review regular PERM cases on a 2-8 weeks timeline, would turn its attention to appeals and audits and decrease the processing times for those cases as well.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates as of February 2, 2011.  Most notable is the decreased (or improved) processing time for regular PERM applications — down to less than one (1) month now.  The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: February 2011.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in February of 201.1  This suggests that there is substantial notable forward movement for regular PERM processing.  Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be less than one month .   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.  We have had recent PERM applications approved in as little as 4 days.
• Audited applications: January 2009.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of January 2009.  There is no notable movement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately 24-26 months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.  This PERM processing queue is moving very slowly and is, unfortunately, not getting any better.
• Appealed applications: June 2008.  DOL is processing PERM appeals which have a priority date of June 2008.   There is some delay in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 30-32 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

DOL has done a terrific job in eliminating the PERM backlog from 9-10 months an year ago to as little as a few weeks today.   At the same time, however, it is disappointing to see that the audited and appealed queues move very slowly forward or remain unchanged.  We hope that DOL, after being able to consistently review regular PERM cases on a 2-4 weeks timeline, would turn its attention to appeals and audits and decrease the processing times for those cases as well.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

Observations from Our Practice

We take special measures to ensure that each PERM application we file is prepared extremely carefully and that any potential PERM audit or denial “red flags” have been addressed.  These include carefully checking the recruitment periods and deadlines, prevailing wage dates, job duties and requirements, and salary, among others.  The Department of Labor (DOL) has started issuing more denials on clerical mistakes – for example, for omitting (harmlessly) specific text from the required PERM notice of posting or from failing to properly document certain steps of the recruitment.

PERM labor certification applications are very technical in nature and require very close following of the relevant regulations and procedures.  By following these carefully, we have been able to secure great results for our clients and we have not noticed increase in PERM audits or denials based on our direct experience.

DOL Comments – Increase in PERM Denials

Our direct experience of not seeing a notable increase in PERM audits or denials is, on the other hand, contradicted by DOL.  During October 28, 2010 Stakeholders Meeting, DOL has acknowledged that  there are increased denials.   According to the meeting minutes, DOL confirms that there is an increase in the PERM denials:

DOL indicated that the increase in PERM denials is due to a number of factors, including staffing changes and an increase in the number of cases filed. At the end of September 2010, DOL moved from multiple staffing contracts, which covered positions ranging from analysts to network support, to one consolidated, performance-based contract. The new capacity has enhanced processing in a variety of areas, and has resulted in increased production. With the increase in staffing, DOL now has the capacity to deal with issues that it could not deal with previously, and the consolidated contract has resulted in higher standards. In addition, DOL indicated that an increase in the number of PERM filings over the past months has resulted in a greater number of denials.

It is interesting that DOL cites the reason for the increase in PERM denials the more robust staffing and better training to its officers.  Essentially, DOL acknowledges that it would continue paying close attention to more of the PERM requirements, including enforcing the clerical requirements (some of which “harmless”) which have caused some recent denials.

Responding to Audits – Failure May Trigger Debarment

In addition to the rate of denials, DOL has specifically addressed the failure of some employers to respond properly or at all to audit notices.  DOL has confirmed that it has seen increased number of employers fail to respond or fail to adequately respond to a PERM audit notice.

DOL has indicated that with its improved staffing it will start looking at these failures to (adequately) respond to a PERM audit notice and would start to enforce more strictly punishments for such failures.   DOL has specifically warned that as a result of failures to report to audit notices,  the number of revocations (of already approved PERMs) and employer debarment proceedings will increase.

Conclusion

DOL’s recent comments do in fact confirm that the number of PERM denials has increased.  As DOL cites better staffing and higher standards for the reason of the increased denials, it is obvious that the increase in PERM denials is caused mainly by strict enforcement or the current standards.  We should expect to see more PERM denials for clerical and harmless errors and for failure to follow all of the PERM guidelines and regulations.

Also, as a result of DOL’s acknowledgment that it would increase the number of revocation and debarment proceedings against employers for failure to (adequately) respond to audit notices, it becomes critically important for employers who receive audit notices to prepare a good and timely response.

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) is an administrative body which reviews mainly denials of PERM labor certification cases but it also handles a number of Department of Labor review cases.   With respect to PERM denials, BALCA is the appellate body which reviews appeals for PERM denials.

BALCA currently has five administrative judges but there are plans in 2011 to increase the number of administrative law judges who will help handle the increasing volume of PERM denial appeals.

BALCA Caseload and Processing Times

Caseload Statistics

BALCA has provided some useful statistics about their current and historic (over the past few years) caseload.

• During the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, BALCA had docketed 254 PERM cases with an additional 164 pre-PERM cases.
• During Fiscal Year 2009, BALCA docketed 488 appeals.
• During Fiscal Year 2010, BALCA docketed 1,656 appeals, more than tripling the FY2008 volume.
• As of October 18, 2010, BALCA reports that there are 1,215 PERM appeals pending.

BALCA Procedures

Before posting the BALCA processing times, a brief overview of the procedural history of a PERM appeal is in order.   First, it should be noted that BALCA processing times are separate than the PERM processing times.  Once a PERM is denied by the DOL Certifying Officer, the employer has an opportunity to submit a Motion to Reconsider with the Certifying Officer.   If the employer decides to appeal, a timely Motion to Reconsider must be filed with the DOL Certifying Officer.  The Certifying Officer, then, has an opportunity to review the motion and change his or her mind on the PERM denial.  If the Certifying Officer affirms the PERM denial, the employer is then given an opportunity to submit a BALCA appeal.

Once a case is docketed, BALCA sends a notice to the employer requiring submission of a statement of intent to proceed within 15 days and sets a 45-day deadline to submit appellate brief.

Processing Times

Once a case is submitted and docketed at BALCA, the average processing time until a decision is reached for FY2010 was 120 days.    Factoring the docketing period and including any employer-required documents, such as intent to proceed and appellate brief, BALCA reports processing time of 6 months.  This does not include cases which are grouped and held pending a decision on a related case.

BALCA reports that once cases are accepted, they are generally processed in a general “first-in first-out” order based on the docketing date (and not based on priority date).

BALCA and the Capitol Immigration Law Group

Our office handles a number of requests for reconsideration and BALCA appeals on PERM denials.  PERMs are being denied on a number of reasons, some of which are difficult to appeal.  Also, and unfortunately, a DOL has started denying more PERM cases on the basis of clerical (and “harmless”) omissions.  Our office can help you review your PERM denial and, if necessary, assist in the appeal process.  Please contact us if we can be of any help.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates as of September 31, 2010.  Most notable is the decreased (or improved) processing time for regular PERM applications — down to 2-4 months now.  The processing times, as reported by DOL, are as follows:

• Regular processing: July 2010.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in July of 2010.  This suggests that there is substantial notable forward movement for regular PERM processing.  Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be approximately 2-4 months.   Our office has experienced PERM approvals consistent with this timeline and we can confirm it.  We have had recent PERM applications approved in as little as 6 weeks.
• Audited applications: August 2008.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of August 2008.  There is no movement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately 24-26 months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.  This PERM processing queue is moving very slowly and is, unfortunately, not getting any better.
• Appealed applications: March 2008.  DOL is processing PERM appeals which have a priority date of March 2008.   There is some delay in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 30-32 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.
• “Government error” appealed applications. DOL has indicated that PERM appeals in this category are reviewed on a 30-45 day timeline.   However, after filing an appeal, DOL does not make an indication whether a PERM appeal is accepted to be processed under the  “government error” queue or under the regular appeal queue.   As a result, DOL has indicated that the only way to know whether a PERM appeal has been accepted for processing under the “government error” queue is to wait for 45 days for response.  If the PERM appeal is reviewed within this time, this would be an indication that a PERM appeal has been accepted (and reviewed) under the “government error” queue.  If no response is received 45 days after filing of a PERM appeal, then this should be an indication that the PERM is pending under the regular appeals queue (see above for processing times).

Conclusion

DOL has done a terrific job in eliminating the PERM backlog from 9-10 months an year ago to as little as 2-4 months today.   At the same time, however, it is disappointing to see that the audited and appealed queues move very slowly forward or remain unchanged.  We hope that DOL, after being able to consistently review regular PERM cases on a 2-4 months timeline, would turn its attention to appeals and audits and decrease the processing times for those cases as well.

Our office has developed a great practice handling PERM filings and/or audit/appeal responses so please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.  Also, we will continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

• Regular processing: May 2010.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in May 2010.  This suggests that there is notable forward movement for regular PERM processing.  Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be approximately 4-5 months.
• Audited applications: August 2008.  DOL is processing PERM audits which have a priority date of August 2008.  This is no movement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately 24 months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.
• Appealed applications: March 2008.  DOL is processing PERM appeals which have a priority date of March 2008.   There is some delay in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 29-30 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.

We continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.

• Regular processing: August 2009.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in August of 2009.  This suggests that there is certain forward movement for regular PERM processing.  Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be approximately nine (9) months.
• Audited applications: May 2008.  This is no movement in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, audited PERM applications are processed approximately 24 months after the initial PERM was filed and the priority date established.
• Appealed applications: December 2007.  There is some delay in this category in comparison to prior months.   Accordingly, PERM appeals are processed approximately 29 months after the initial PERM was filed and its priority date established.

We continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcement.

Because DOL was not ready to accept electronic submissions on January 1, it announced that it would accept paper prevailing wage submissions until the iCert system is modified to accept prevailing wage requests on Form 9141.   As a result, many prevailing wage requests from early this year were submitted via mail.  On or about January 15, 2010, DOL launched the online prevailing wage request form and is now accepting online submissions.

Prevailing Wage Determinations Currently Take Three to Four Weeks

Unfortunately, delays in the processing of the prevailing wage requests are widely reported.  In many instances, paper request forms submitted before January 15th took one or two weeks to be entered into the system and confirmed as submitted.  We are seeing that it currently takes between three and four weeks for DOL to provide prevailing wage determinations.

In communications related to the new system, DOL has indicated that prevailing wage determinations may take up to 60 days.  This is in a sharp contrast to the pre-January 1, 2010 system where state workforce agencies were often able to provide prevailing wage determinations within 1-2 days.

We hope that DOL is experiencing adjustment issues to the new system and once system glitches are ironed out, DOL will staff the prevailing wage determination bureau properly so that determinations can be issued promptly.   To avoid delays in H-1B petitions associated with prevailing wage determinations, our office uses alternative prevailing wage surveys.  However, for PERM labor certification applications, the new prevailing wage determination system adds one to two months of additional PERM preparation time.

• Regular processing: March 2009.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in March of 2009.  This suggests that there is certain forward movement for regular PERM processing.  Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be approximately nine (9) months.
• Audited applications: December 2007.  This is movement forward of two (2) months in comparison to the November 31, 2009 report, resulting a net additional gain of one (1) month for audited PERM applications.  Accordingly, audited PERM processing times should be approximately 24 months.
• Appealed applications: August 2007.  There is no movement this month in this category in comparison to November 31, 2009, resulting a net additional delay of one (1) month for appealed PERM applications.  Accordingly, PERM appeals take approximately 28 months.

We continue monitoring the PERM processing times and analyze any updates.  Please visit us again or subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcement.

• Regular processing: February 2009.  DOL is processing PERM applications with priority dates in February 2009.  This suggests that there is certain forward movement for regular PERM processing.  Accordingly, regular PERM processing times should be approximately nine (9) months.
• Audited applications: October 2007.  This is movement forward of two (2) months in comparison to the July 31, 2009, resulting a net additional delay of two (2) months for audited PERM applications.
• Appealed applications: August 2007.  This is movement forward of only one (1) month in comparison to July 31, 2009, resulting a net additional delay of three (3) months for audited PERM applications.

Based on these numbers, we can conclude that while the August-November 2009 period brings certain forward movement for regular PERM applications, it still takes approximately 9 to 10 months for a regular PERM case to be certified.  With respect to audited or appealed cases, the processing times indicate additional delay.

H-1B Labor Condition Applications (”LCA”).  The target performance rate set by DOL is seven (business) days.  For the second quarter, the performance rate was 99.11% of the goal, meaning that DOL responded to nearly all  LCA applications within the mandatory seven days.  This however, reflects statistics from the old, pre-iCert, system which used to provide instant LCA certification.  Under the new iCert LCA system, the LCAs are reviewed manually and from our experience an LCA takes up to 7 business days to certify.  The iCert system went into effect on June 30, 2009.

PERM Labor Certifications.  The target performance rate is review within six months of filing of PERM.  Unfortunately, the reported rate of PERM certifications which fell within the target of six months is only 17%.  Although this is a slight increase compared to 2009Q1 performance rate of 11%, it is still a very low performance rate and confirms our experience from earlier this year that DOL takes upward of 9 months to certify PERM applications.  DOL’s explanation is that such increased processing time is due to increased integrity checks in light of declining economy and continued PERM filings for positions where there are U.S. workers available (for example, financial services).  DOL plans to institute a new electronic filing system for PERM labor certifications around July 1, 2010.

H-2A and H-2B.  The performance target for H-2A is 15 business days while the performance target for H-2B is 60 days.  The on-target performance was 54% (increase from last quarter’s 38%) for H-2A and 87% (increase from last quarter’s 31%) for H-2B.  An important note is that the H-2B regulations were revised as of January 2009 and the numbers do not reflect properly the new H-2B rules.  It should be also noted that the H-2B program performance incrase is a seasonal occurrence and even taking into consideration this performance improvement, the overall performance is under the annual target.

Conclusion.  There seems to be increased delays overall in some categories.  Most troubling are the significant PERM delays.  We have written previously about the delays in PERM processing (which seem to be improving slightly) but  the PERM performance chart for the past eight quarters suggests that return to 6-month processing PERM is far.  Additionally, LCAs for H-1B applications now take up to seven business days which adds a week of processing to all H-1B applications.  For employers who are not part of the iCert system, there may be an additional 2-5 days iCert employer verification period.   As a result, we urge our clients to factor this processing time when planning business and employment decisions with respect to H-1B workers.

• Regular processing: November 2008.  Unfortunately, there is no movement in comparison to the April 30, 2009 report which also reported November 2008, resulting a net additional delay of three (3) months for regular PERM applications.
• Audited applications: October 2007.  This is movement forward of only one (1) month in comparison to April 30, 2009, resulting a net additional delay of two (2) months for audited PERM applications.
• Appealed applications: July 2007.  This is movement forward of only one (1) month in comparison to April 30, 2009, resulting a net additional delay of two (2) months for audited PERM applications.

Based on these numbers, we can conclude that unfortunately the May-July 2009 period does not bring any improvement in the PERM processing times.   In fact, based on the July 31, 2009 numbers, regular PERM applications are expected to take approximately 9 months.

H-1B Labor Condition Applications (“LCA”).  The target performance rate set by DOL is seven (business) days.  For the first quarter, the performance rate was 100% of the goal, meaning that DOL responded to all  LCA applications within seven days.  This however, reflects statistics from the old, pre-iCert, system which used to provide instant LCA certification.  Under the new iCert LCA system, the LCAs are reviewed manually and from our experience an LCA takes up to 7 business days to certify.  The iCert system went into effect on June 30, 2009.

PERM Labor Certifications.  The target performance rate is review within six months of filing of PERM.  Unfortunately, the reported rate of PERM certifications which fell within the target of six months is only 11%.  This is very low performance rate and supports our experience from earlier this year that DOL took upward of 9 months to certify PERM applications.  DOL’s explanation is that such increased processing time is due to increased integrity checks in light of declining economy and continued PERM filings for positions where there are U.S. workers available (for example, financial services).

H-2A and H-2B.  The performance target for H-2A is 15 business days while the performance target for H-2B is 60 days.  The on-target performance was 38% for H-2A and 31% for H-2B.  An important note is that the H-2B regulations were revised as of January 2009 and the numbers do not reflect properly the new H-2B rules.

Conclusion.  There seems to be increased delays overall in all categories.  Most troubling are the significant PERM delays.  We have written previously about the delays in PERM processing (which seem to be improving slightly) but  the PERM performance chart for the past eight quarters suggests that return to 6-month processing PERM is far.  Additionally, LCAs for H-1B applications now take up to seven business days which adds a week of processing to all H-1B applications.  We urge our clients to factor this processing time when planning business and employment decisions with respect to H-1B workers.

There are about 58,000 applications currently pending of which 54% are under final review, 38% are in audits, 6% are on appeal and the remaining 2% are subject to  employment verification checks or othe.

DOL also reported that cases which are under supervised recruitment have a 25% withdrawal rate, 45% denial rate, 11% certification rate and about 20% remain pending.  Unfortunately, DOL did not report the total number of these cases as of the date of their report.

What Do These Numbers Mean?

Although the number of pending PERM cases is higher than the numbers as of December 31, 2008 (which was 53,200), we expect to see processing PERM times descrease slightly over the upcoming months.   We have written about the cause of the PERM processing delays in the past and it seems that although the overall number of pending cases has not decreased substantially, the processing times have gone done slightly.  We expect this trend to continue, although we do not expect major processing time improvements.

With respect to supervised recruitment, the numbers do not look encouraging with a 11% certification rate for each case which has been ordered for supervised recruitment.  This could be due to the fact that many employers decide to withdraw the case and refile (which explains, in part, the high withdrawal rate of supervised recruitment PERM cases of  25%).

We hope that with the introduction of the new iCert PERM portal  later this year and with the economy slowdown, the PERM processing times should improve.

DOL Priorities

DOL is working on (1) increasing the amount of supervised recruitment from the Atlanta National Processing Center by October 1, 2009; (2) centralizing the processing of all prevailing wage determinations; and (3) centralizing all help desk functions in the national Office of Foreign Labor certifications in Washington, DC by January 1, 2010.

PERM under iCERT Portal Delayed

The PERM section of the new iCert portal will take longer to complete than anticipated and will not be deployed until after September 2009.  Exact deployment date could not be provided.

• No audit: November 2008 (a month ago, DOL was processing PERM applications filed in April 2008, this is a significant positive development);
• Audit: September 2007 (no change from a month ago);
• Appeal: June 2007 (no change from a month ago).

We have noticed that PERM system improvements and the emphasis on efficiency at the Atlanta PERM center have improved the PERM processing times from approximately 9 months in March 2009 to around 6-7 months as of end of April 2009.

• No audit: July 2008;
• Audit: September 2007;
• Appeal: June 2007.

Hopefully, the upcoming PERM system improvements and the emphasis on efficiency at the Atlanta PERM center will improve the current 9-month PERM processing time.

Initially, the Department of Labor was scheduled to release new IT systems to handle PERM (part of some employment-based green card application processes) and LCA (part of the H-1B work visa application process) filings with new and enhances systems.  Last Friday, March 20, 2009, DOL announced that the launch of the new PERM filing system will be delayed from July 1, 2009 to September 2009 due to technical issues.

At the same time, DOL has confirmed that the LCA filing system will be launched on April 15, 2009, with concurrent use of the old and new systems between April 15, 2009 and May 15, 2009.  After May 15, 2009, it is anticipated that only the new LCA filing systems will be available for preparing and filing LCAs.

Beneficiaries who have an I-140 approved are eligible to retain their priority date if they have another I-140 approved for the same or a different EB category.   Under 8 CFR § 204.5(e), if more than one I-140 is approved for a single beneficiary, the beneficiary gets the benefit of the earliest priority date even if the I-140s are approved in different EB categories.

In a recent USCIS/AILS Liaison exchange, USCIS has acknowledged that the approval notice for the second I-140 should automatically reflect the earlier priority date if the beneficiary is eligible to retain it.  However, USCIS has confirmed our practice at the Capitol Immigration Law Group to clearly mark the the second I-140 filing (by bright cover sheet and including a copy of the earlier I-140 approval notice showing the earlier priority date).   USCIS has advised that second I-140s which do not retain the earlier priority date should be corrected by calling the NCSC (or Division 12 at CSC).

[T]he delay was due to change in contractors and the subsequent period of hiring and training new contractor staff for the Atlanta National Processing Center.

One of the reasons that case processing slowed in the 4th quarter of 2008 was that DOL was hiring and training contractor staff for the Atlanta National Processing Center. The contract was awarded last summer, a losing contractor appealed and won the appeal, then the initial contractor sued. The workers did not come on board until last September 2008. The Atlanta Processing Center has only 40 federal employees and the rest of the staff consists of contractors. With the contractors now in place, the pace of processing has picked up. Only 4,571 PERM applications were completed in October-December 2008 but 3,500 PERM applications were completed in January 2009. However, DOL expects this will level off and processing rates will slow down again because of the limited number of federal employees available to review the contractors’ work.

The January number of 3,500 PERM applications is reassuring.  We will continue monitoring information from DOL regarding PERM processing timelines and provide updates to this important to many of our readers topic.

In a response to a question posed at a February 3, 2009, DOL stakeholder meeting, DOL indicated that:

The rising unemployment rate is also a big concern to DOL. 180,000 jobs were lost in the last month, and 1.2 million jobs were lost in the last five months. Unemployment funding is in trouble in many states. OFLC is trying to integrate labor market information from various sources within DOL. In response to continued layoffs, DOL will increase supervised recruitment.  [...]DOL will carefully analyze actual data regarding layoffs and not react solely based on news reports. However, the clear message is that we should expect more supervised recruitment as layoffs affect new industries.

This message from DOL seems to indicate that an increased scrutiny should be expected in certain PERM filings.  Although it is difficult to predict the kind of cases to which DOL will impose supervised recruitment, it is likely that, for example, financial analyst positions in New York City will be given extra attention.

There are some interesting numbers.  Unfortunately, the news is not good for PERM applicants.  As of December 31, 2008, there were 53,200 active PERM cases pending at DOL.  This is significantly higher than the 40,200 cases which were pending as of September 30, 2008.  This means that for the past three months, the backlog at DOL’s PERM processing centers has increased by 13,000 cases, or by 32%.   For the same period, between October 1 and December 31, 2008, DOL received 20,752 new PERM applications but it completed only 4,571 cases.

These  numbers confirm our observations that PERM applications are backlogging significantly and the processing time is likely to skyrocket over the next 6-12 months.  According to (fairly reliable) information compiled by our friends at trackitt.com, the PERM processing times have been steadily increasing from somewhere around 70 days in late 2007 and early 2008 to 200-200 days in mid 2008.   Based on DOL’s statistics, we expect the PERM processing times to incrase more.

We will continue monitoring the PERM timelines and attempt to draw some conclusions which would help our clients plan their immigration strategy.  Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates on this topic.

There were approximately 90,039 PERM applications received throughout FY’08.  Of them, the vast majority, 84,876, were electronic submissions and only 5,163 were mailed in.   DOL completed a total of 61,997 case, of them 49,205 (79%) were certified; 10,729 (17%) were denied; and 2,063 (3%) were withdrawn.

The fact that  therewere more PERM cases filed throughout FY’08 than there were cases reviewed indicates that overall the backlog of PERM cases has increased.  The backlog increased by 28,042 cases during FY’08.  According to DOL, as of September 30, 2008, there are 40,200 active PERM cases, of which 57% are pending final review, 32% are being audited, 8% are subject to reconsideration/appeal.

Unfortunately, the PERM statistics do not seem to indicate relief from the increased PERM processing times.  When originally implemented, the PERM system was intended to have a standard turnaround time of between 30 and 60 days.  Unfortunately, this has grown to 180 days in many regular, non-audited PERM cases.

Among the other statistics are breakdown by state of intended employment (California is,  not surprisingly, the largest); aliens’ countries of nationality (India is top); and top job titles (Computer Software Engineers are top).

Read the full report here.

During the Period, there were 44,090 PERM applications received, there were 12,600 cases certified and, as of March 23, 2008, there were 28,000 cases pending.

Among the highlights provided by DOL are that 66% of the certified PERM cases were H-1B workers.  The top five states of intended employment were California, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Florida.  Among the countries, India was top, followed by China, South Korea, Philippines, Mexico, Canada, and the U.K.

Summary of the PERM Data

During FY 2007, there were 98,753 applications processed and 85,112 PERM cases certified (an approval rate of 85%). Out of the 85,112 certified cases, 55,214 were employed on H-1B visa. Similarly, out of the 85,112 certified cases, about 30% had Bachelor’s degree and 48% had Masters or higher degree. The average age at certification was 34 and the average annual wage offer was $64,589. .

Economic Sectors

It may not come as a surprise that the top economic sector by a large margin was Information Technology, at 21,581 certifications, followed by Advanced Manufacturing with 11,980 certifications and Educational Services with 6,192 certifications. It may be worth noting that while the top economic sectors with PERM certifications had a high percentage of Bachelor or higher degree and a high wage, there were three sectors, Hospitality and Tourism, with 4,769 certifications, and Construction, with 3,902 certifications, and Agrobusiness, with 1,069 certifications, which had fairly low percentage of Bachelor’s degree or higher (under 30%).

See the full FY 2007 PERM Economic Sectors Chart.

Top Occupations in Demand

In line with the economic sector numbers, the top three occupations were Computer Software Engineers with 9,844 PERM certifications, System Software Engineers, with 5,716 certifications, and Computer System Analysts, with 4,012 certifications. Interestingly, the fourth ranked occupation was restaurant cooks, with 2,642 certifications.

See the full FY 2007 PERM Occupations Chart.

Top Countries of Citizenship

The top five countries were India, with 24,573 certifications (29%), China, with 6,846 certifications (8%), Mexico, with 6,442 certifications (8%), South Korea, with 5,159 certifications (6%), and Canada, with 4,837 certifications (6%).

See the full FY 2007 PERM Applicant Countries Chart.

PERM Certification by State

California had the most PERM certifications, 20,222 (or 23%) by a large margin, followed by New York, 8,843 (10%), New Jersey, 6,594 (7%), and Texas, 6,534 (7%). It is interesting to note that the highest paying jobs went to Washington State (average annual wage of $82,698) which most likely can be explained by Microsoft’s heavy reliance on PERM to bring in qualified foreign-born software engineers.

See the full FY 2007 PERM States Chart.

For the period between October and December 2007, DOL received almost 20,000 PERM on-line submissions and slightly over 1,000 mail-in submissions. DOL completed work on 16,200 cases, of which 12,500 were certified (78% certification rate), 2,800 were denied (17%) and 800 were withdrawn (5%).

It is interesting to compare the approval rates for the Oct-Dec 2007 period with the historical certification rate since PERM started in March 2005. The historical overall certification rate is slightly above 78% which seems to indicate that the Oct-Dec 2007 certification rate was in line with historical averages.

Among other interesting findings in the report are the top five states of intended employment – California (23%), New York (10%), New Jersey (7%), Texas (7%) and Florida (6%). Few would be surprised that Indian nationals were the top nationality with 28% of all certified applications and computer software engineers were the top occupation with 17%.

In the H-2A/H-2B section of the report, it is worth noting that there was a significant increase in both the number of requested and certified labor certifications for both the agricultural and non-agricultural programs in FY07 compared to FY06. This seems to suggest that more employers are resorting to H-2 visas to obtain temporary labor. [See our recent post on H-2B cap.]

The relevant portion of the DOL report can be read here (PDF).