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Ask your sponsoring employer or its authorized immigration representative for your PERM case number, then check it in the Department of Labor’s FLAG Case Status Search. For applications filed before May 31, 2023, DOL directs users to its legacy PERM system. Compare your case’s priority date with DOL’s processing queue, but don’t treat a long wait or an unchanged status as proof that your case is on hold. Only case-specific communication from DOL or confirmation from the employer or authorized filer can establish whether a particular case is affected.
Get the case number and identify where it was filed
The sponsoring employer files the PERM labor certification application. The employer or the immigration lawyer or agent authorized to handle the filing is therefore the practical first contact for the case number, filing information, and official correspondence. DOL’s online status search requires a case number; a worker may not be able to retrieve case-specific information without it.
- Ask the employer or authorized representative for the PERM case number and the application’s filing priority date.
- Ask whether DOL has sent a notice, requested additional material, or communicated a suspension affecting the case or employer.
- Use the appropriate status system: the current FLAG search for cases filed through that system, or DOL’s legacy PERM online system for applications filed before May 31, 2023.
Check the case status and DOL’s processing queue
Look up the case in FLAG
For cases filed in the current system, open DOL’s FLAG Case Status Search, select or search for PERM, and enter the case number. Note the status shown and the date you checked, since the case page and agency processing can change.
Compare the priority date with the queue
Open DOL’s Processing Times page and compare your case’s priority date with the date shown for the relevant processing category, such as Analyst Review or Audit Review. The queue describes which filing dates DOL is currently working on; it does not explain why an individual case has not moved.
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DOL’s page snapshot dated October 5, 2026 listed Analyst Review and Audit Review at December 2025 priority dates, and Reconsideration Requests to the Certifying Officer at May 2026. The page reported an average of 336 calendar days to process Analyst Review determinations in August 2026; the Audit Review average was listed as N/A. These are dated queue and average figures, not an estimate or promised decision date for an individual case. DOL says actual times vary with material facts and individual circumstances, and it updates the page monthly.
Know what a delay can—and cannot—tell you
A status or old filing date does not prove a hold
FLAG reports a case status, while the processing-time page reports the queue. Neither, by itself, identifies the reason for a particular delay. A case taking longer than an average or remaining unchanged is not enough to conclude that DOL has placed it on hold.
A broad interruption differs from an employer-specific suspension
A broad operational interruption can affect processing across employers. On October 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification announced that processing had resumed after a shutdown-related interruption, stating: “The Department of Labor has resumed processing of employer requests for prevailing wages and labor certification determinations for temporary and permanent employment in the United States.” That announcement describes the restart at that time; it does not establish that a broad hold is active now.
A separate enforcement action may target applications associated with a specific employer. DOL announced on May 12, 2026, that it suspended processing of PERM applications filed by or on behalf of Cloudera for 180 days. That example does not show that another employer or a particular worker’s case is affected.
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When to contact DOL about a case that is behind the queue
DOL says that if the posted processing dates are more than three months newer than the filing month represented by your case, the OFLC PERM Helpdesk may be contacted for a status request. Work with the employer or authorized representative so any inquiry is tied to the actual case. DOL lists these email addresses for qualifying status requests:
- oflc.plc@dol.gov
- plc.atlanta@dol.gov
In parallel, ask the employer or filer whether DOL sent case-specific correspondence, requested information, or imposed a suspension connected to that employer. A public queue delay alone does not reveal the cause, and the available public status information does not establish what an individual worker can access without employer authorization.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the employer is central to the PERM inquiry
DOL describes PERM as an employer’s labor-certification step that, in most instances, must be certified before the employer submits an immigration petition to USCIS. The process includes a prevailing-wage determination, required recruitment steps, and submission of the PERM application. Because the employer or its authorized filer handles the filing and receives official case communications, that party can connect the case number, status, and any notice from DOL.
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