DOL explains why Prevailing Wages and Labor Certifications are taking so long

FY2023 showed record numbers of filings in all U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) programs (H-2A, H-2B CW-1, PWD and PERM), but OFLC has not received an increase in funding to manage the increased workload. As OFLC is bound by statutory and regulatory timeframes for processing H-2A and H-2B cases, this has led to increased ETA Form 9141 and ETA Form 9089 processing times and requires shifting of resources from ETA Form 9141 and ETA Form 9089 programs to H-2A and H-2B programs. ETA Form 9141 filings have increased but OFLC is doing what they can to process those requests, with the end goal to keep processing times stable and predictable so filers can estimate when they can expect to receive a PWD. As of June 12, 2024, approximately 5,000 PERM applications remain in the legacy system for Analyst Review and approximately 160,000 PERMs are currently pending in FLAG.

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EB2 to EB3 Conversion and Filing I-485 Concurrently

With Employment Based Third Category (EB3) priority dates moving faster for India, we are frequently asked if a Beneficiary in EB-2 can downgrade and convert their immigrant petition to an EB-3 classification, so that they would be able to file their I-485 and EAD for their entire family sooner (and maybe even concurrently). The answer is YES, it is possible to do so. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions!

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September 25, 2020