The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently updated the published processing times for PERM labor certification applications.  DOL reports that as of March 31, 2010, it was processing the following PERM cases:

   Analyst Review:  June 2009
   Audit Review:  March 2008
   Standard Appeals:  November 2007
   Government Error Appeals:  Current

Cases in “Analyst Review” are undergoing initial review – these are the cases for which DOL is currently issuing certifications and audit notices.   While DOL reports that it is processing cases filed in June 2009, we are aware that cases filed as late as October 2009 have recently been processed DOL.  At the March 2010 Stakeholder call, DOL advised that they were putting additional resources into trying to bring down their backlog, and that stakeholders should expect to see additional forward progress in the processing dates.

Cases in “Audit Review” were issued audit notices by DOL, and the employer submitted an audit response to DOL for review.  It is important to note that DOL uses the date of original filing (i.e., the priority date) to determine processing times for all PERM cases.  For example, DOL is reviewing audit responses for PERM cases that were filed in March 2008 and earlier; however, the employer’s audit response may have been submitted several months after that date.

Cases in “Standard Appeals” are denied cases where either a request for reconsideration by DOL or a request for appellate review (i.e., an appeal) was submitted.  DOL now forwards appeals directly to the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) for review; however, until late 2009, DOL was processing both reconsideration requests and appeals in the same queue, so the “Standard Appeals” queue includes both requests for reconsideration and appeals.  DOL may break these out into separate reporting fields in the future.

“Government Error Appeals” are appeals based solely on an error by DOL , i.e., cases denied for failure to respond to an audit, but the employer did in fact submit a timely audit response.  While an employer may ask for its appeal to be considered under the government error queue, DOL is the sole arbiter in determining whether the decision was government error.  If DOL does not find that the decision was erroneous, the case will move to the Standard Appeal queue for further processing.

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