U.S. employers face another year of uncertainty as PERM labor certifications remain bottlenecked at the Department of Labor. PERM reviews now average about 512 days, OFLC reports, stretching green-card timelines and complicating workforce plans for 2026. (flag.dol.gov)
As of February 9, 2026, the Labor Department’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification is adjudicating cases filed in September 2024 for standard analyst review, with audit review work on June 2025 filings and reconsideration requests from September 2025. In January 2026, OFLC reported an average of 512 calendar days to complete analyst reviews—roughly 17 months. Analyst review is on September 2024 filings, underscoring how far the line still stretches. (flag.dol.gov)
The front end of the process is crowded too. For prevailing wage determinations tied to PERM, the National Prevailing Wage Center is working through receipts from October–November 2025, and OFLC’s dashboard shows sizable wage-request inventories from late 2025 into January 2026. Those queues can ripple into recruitment start dates and delay filings through the rest of this year. (flag.dol.gov)
Lengthy DOL timelines push the rest of the employment-based green card process deeper into 2026 and beyond. That matters because visa number availability remains tight in key categories. In the State Department’s Visa Bulletin for February 2026, EB‑2 for India’s final action date sits at July 15, 2013, and EB‑3 India at November 15, 2013, while EB‑2 for most other countries stands at April 1, 2024 and EB‑3 at June 1, 2023. EB‑1 is current for most applicants but not for India and China, which are set at February 1, 2023. EB‑2 India remains July 15, 2013, meaning even approved I‑140s may not lead to immediate adjustment filings. (travel.state.gov)
Taken together, prevailing wage bottlenecks, long PERM adjudications, and retrogressed visa cutoffs compress hiring and retention plans. Employers that wait to initiate cases may find target start dates or H‑1B status milestones colliding with government queues, adding budget and scheduling uncertainty through the next fiscal year. (flag.dol.gov)
Organizations are responding by front‑loading green‑card sponsorship decisions, building longer timelines into headcount plans, and sequencing recruitment so filings are ready as soon as wages post. Many are also tracking monthly OFLC processing updates and the State Department’s Visa Bulletin to anticipate when later stages can proceed. OFLC posts new processing snapshots each month, and priority dates can shift without much notice, making steady monitoring essential. (flag.dol.gov)
None of these steps shorten government queues, but earlier planning can reduce avoidable delays and help set realistic expectations for candidates and hiring managers in 2026.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice.