2025 U.S. PERM Labor Certification Updates
Author: Attorney Jian Joe Zhou (jzhou@hooyou.com)
The PERM labor certification is the first step in employment-based immigration under EB-2 and EB-3 categories. Except for NIW (National Interest Waiver), employment-based immigration in these categories requires employers to complete the PERM labor certification process with the U.S. Department of Labor to prove a shortage of American workers before foreign employees can apply for employment-based immigration.
Here is a summary of the latest developments in the PERM labor certification process as of January 2025:
A. Processing Time
As of January 2025, the overall processing time for the PERM labor certification is approximately 25 months. This includes:
This means that even in the smoothest cases, the PERM labor certification process takes close to two years, highlighting the importance of starting the PERM application process as early as possible.
B. New FLAG System
Since June 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) has implemented the FLAG system for receiving all online PERM applications. This system provides several advantages:
Moreover, employers no longer have direct access to case progress within the FLAG system. Only the attorney can track the progress of cases through their FLAG account. However, the employer contact listed on the PERM application (ETA-9089) will still receive email notifications from the DOL regarding events such as case submissions, approvals, or audits.
Given these changes, it is crucial to engage an experienced and diligent attorney to handle PERM applications to ensure effective oversight of the entire process.
C. Insights from Recent Approvals
As of early 2025, the DOL has announced that the processing time for PERM applications is approximately 462 days, or about 15-16 months. This aligns with our real worldexperience, as PERM cases filed by our firm through the FLAG system before August 2023 have already been approved.
While the new PERM ETA-9089 form introduced under the FLAG system incorporates many updates and adjustments, our firm’s extensive experience has enabled us to address the new issues and questions effectively. The DOL has agreed on our practice by issuing approvals, boosting our confidence in the legal continuity and stability of the PERM application with the new FLAG system. We will continue to provide detailed analysis and insights of the changes and strategies related to the new ETA-9089 form and PERM related issue in future articles.
About the Author
Attorney Jian Joe Zhou is a co-managing partner of Zhang & Associates, P.C., with over 20 years of experience in labor certification cases. He has successfully handled thousands of PERM and pre-PERM labor certification applications. Attorney Zhou is an expert in the U.S. labor certification system and its practical implementation. He also represents multiple law firms in filing PERM labor certification applications for their employees. Additionally, Zhou specializes in EB-1, EB-2, NIW, EB-5, H, and L visa categories, as well as complex I-485 and family-based immigration cases. For inquiries, contact jzhou@hooyou.com.
Founded in 1996, Zhang & Associates, P.C. offers legal services to clients worldwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled over ten thousand immigration cases.
At Zhang & Associates, P.C., our attorneys and supporting professionals are committed to providing high-quality immigration and non-immigration visa services. We specialize in NIW, EB-1, PERM, I-485 I-130, H-1B, O, L and J cases. In the past
over twenty years, we have successfully helped over ten thousand clients get green cards. If you plan to apply for a green card, please send your CV to Attorney Jerry Zhang (info@hooyou.com) for a free evaluation.
Zhang & Associates, P.C.
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(01/21/2025)