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To find out whether a PERM case may be affected by a government hold, ask the sponsoring employer or its authorized immigration representative for the case number and current case information. Then check the case in the U.S. Department of Labor’s FLAG Case Status Search and compare its filing priority date with DOL’s processing-time queue. A delay or old status alone does not prove that a hold is in place; ask the employer or authorized representative whether DOL sent a case-specific notice or suspended processing for that employer.
Get the case number and check the right DOL system
The employer—not the H-1B worker—files the PERM labor certification application. DOL describes PERM as a step that, in most cases, 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. The employer or authorized immigration representative is therefore the practical first contact for the case number and official correspondence. DOL’s PERM overview explains the program.
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- Ask for the case number. Request it from the sponsoring employer or the immigration lawyer or agent authorized to handle the filing. DOL’s online case search requires a case number; if you do not have it, request the case-specific status from the employer or representative.
- Search current-system cases in FLAG. Open the FLAG Case Status Search, select or search for PERM, and enter the case number. Record the displayed status and the date you checked, since the case information and processing page can change.
- Use the legacy system for older filings. DOL directs users to its legacy PERM online system for applications filed before May 31, 2023. Do not assume a missing result in the current FLAG search means the case has been closed or placed on hold.
- Compare the filing date with DOL’s queue. Check the case’s priority date against the filing dates currently shown on DOL’s Processing Times page. The page is updated monthly, so note its snapshot date as well as your own check date.
Understand what the case status and queue can—and cannot—tell you
FLAG shows a case status; DOL’s processing page shows which filing dates are being adjudicated and reports average processing durations. Neither, on its own, necessarily explains why a particular case is delayed or establishes that a government hold applies. DOL says actual PERM processing times vary with material facts and individual circumstances.
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In the processing snapshot dated October 5, 2026, DOL listed Analyst Review and Audit Review at December 2025 priority dates, and Reconsideration Request 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 figures describe the published queue and a reported average, not a prediction or deadline for an individual case.
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Distinguish a broad interruption from an employer-specific suspension
A government-wide interruption and a targeted suspension are different. On October 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced that processing had resumed after a shutdown-related interruption: “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 action can target cases associated with one employer. In an announcement dated May 12, 2026, DOL said it suspended processing for 180 days of PERM applications filed by or on behalf of Cloudera. That employer-specific example does not show that another employer, or any particular worker’s case, is affected. A delay beyond an average or a queue date is not evidence by itself of either kind of hold.
When to contact the PERM Helpdesk
DOL says an applicant may contact the OFLC PERM Helpdesk for status if the case is more than three months older than the month represented by the posted processing queue. If the case meets that threshold, involve the employer or authorized representative so an inquiry can be tied to the actual filing. DOL lists [email protected] and [email protected] for qualifying status requests. The threshold is an avenue for asking about status, not a promise of a response time or decision date.
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What to ask the employer or representative
Along with the case number and current filing information, ask whether DOL sent a case-specific notice, requested additional material, or communicated an employer-specific suspension. The public status search and queue do not reveal the reason for every delay, and the reviewed DOL sources do not establish what case information a worker can access without employer authorization. The employer or authorized filer is best placed to check official correspondence and raise a case-specific inquiry.
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