PERM Delays: Audits and Backlogs

PERM cases are backlogged now to December 2008. So if you have a PERM case pending that was submitted more than a year ago, DOL may entertain an email inquiry from you. But if your case was submitted in October 2008 or after, you still have a long wait ahead of you and yes, DOL does not want to hear from you at all…

USDOL reports that they have approximately 65,800 cases in the processing queue for PERM. This number also includes cases that are on appeal. Of these cases, approximately 24,600 or about 37% of the cases were issued audits.

For people waiting for final adjudication after submitting an audit response, DOL informs us that they are still working on audited cases from October 2007!

This is obviously bad news for applicants and employers who are waiting patiently for these processing queues to move forward. If you have been in this queue already, you already know that PERM has slowed down to a crawl. For anyone thinking of filing a new PERM case, be warned that since it is taking so long for an initial or final adjudication, employers and employees must be extremely careful about how their case is presented and hope that their case goes through without the additional delay of an audit. Further, take care to cover yourself and maintain status throughout the anticipated pendency of a PERM application. If you have questions about PERM or presenting a new case, contact the attorneys at Romben Law, APC for a initial consultation. —ecf