How to Check Your PERM Case Status on FLAG, and What Each Status Means

Your employer filed PERM months ago and all you have is a one-word status on DOL's FLAG site, so here is what each label means and where the queue stands.

Part of our guide to PERM labor certification.

To check PERM status, go to the Department of Labor's Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) at flag.dol.gov, open Resources, then Case Status Search (no login needed), and enter the full PERM case number, dashes included. The case number comes from your employer or its immigration attorney, because PERM is your employer's application, not yours. Then compare your filing month with FLAG's processing-times page. As of October 21, 2026, DOL was working analyst review on cases filed in January 2026 and audit review on cases filed in December 2025, with a 303-day average for analyst review.

Status line, as of 2026-11-01:

• In effect, unchanged: the current PERM rules at 20 CFR 656.17 still apply.
• Cleared White House review, not published: DOL's proposed rule "Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program" (RIN 1205-AC29) concluded OIRA review on 2026-10-23 "Consistent with Change" but is not in the Federal Register, so there is no text and no open comment period (OIRA completed reviews).
• Funding: federal funding runs through 2026-12-11 under the current continuing resolution (P.L. 119-103). Unless Congress passes funding by then, processing at DOL's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), which handles LCAs, PERM and prevailing wages, could stop during a lapse; that is a reported risk based on past shutdowns, not a DOL statement. Restarts appear on FLAG's Announcements page, as on 2025-10-31, when OFLC said it "has resumed processing" (FLAG announcement).

How to check PERM status on FLAG

You check a PERM case on DOL's FLAG website, not on the USCIS site. Enter the full case number, including dashes, in FLAG's public Case Status Search, read the status label, then compare the month your employer filed with the matching queue on FLAG's processing-times page. Your employer's attorney sees more detail inside the FLAG account.

DOL's FLAG release notes say filers can "search for the status of their PERM application by entering the full case number (including dashes) in the Case Status Search box" (FLAG release notes, 2023-08-31). The full routine:

1. Ask your employer's immigration attorney for the PERM case number and the date the Form ETA-9089 was filed, in writing.
2. Open FLAG's Case Status Search from the Resources menu on flag.dol.gov. No login is needed; the page runs an automated check to block bots.
3. Enter the full case number exactly as the attorney gave it, dashes included. The page's own example format is G-100-12345-123456, and it takes up to 30 numbers, one per line.
4. Record the result and the date you checked. The page lists the visa program, case number, employer name, job title, submit date and status.
5. Open FLAG's processing-times page and find the queue row that matches your status: Analyst Review, Audit Review or Reconsideration Request to the CO.
6. Compare your filing month with the month in that row. If they match, DOL is working your month now. If yours is later, your case is still waiting its turn. If yours is earlier, DOL notes that "OFLC may be completing the processing of applications filed prior to the month posted," so a short lag is not unusual.
7. Email the attorney if your filing month is more than three months before the posted month. DOL says that if an application "was filed more than three months prior to the month posted," the filer may contact the OFLC PERM Helpdesk. The filer is your employer, not you.

One exception: FLAG's search page says a PERM application filed before 5/31/2023, on the old version of the form, is checked on DOL's older PERM system, not in this search.

Can you check PERM status without your employer?

Yes, if you have the full case number. The public search needs no account, and it shows the employer name, job title, submit date and status, so you can confirm the number belongs to your case. What you cannot do is see inside the employer's FLAG account, answer an audit or a request for information, or withdraw the case. DOL says it directly: "The filing of applications is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee" (DOL Permanent Labor Certification).

Without the number, your options are thin. DOL's quarterly PERM disclosure files hold only cases where OFLC issued a determination, listed by employer, job title and dates, with no field for the foreign worker's name (PERM record layout, FY2026 Q2). The latest file, FY2026 Q3 (announced 2026-08-14), covers determinations issued through June 30, 2026 (OFLC performance data). A pending case is not in it, so any "PERM tracker" built on these files trails the live FLAG status.

Where does the PERM case number come from?

FLAG assigns it shortly after the employer or attorney submits Form ETA-9089. According to DOL's FLAG PERM user guide, FLAG sends the filer a courtesy email from [email protected] on submission, and the case sits briefly under "Pending Case Number" before moving to "Assigned Case Number" in the filer's account. The number later appears on the certified application. If you are still on F-1 STEM OPT, this number has nothing to do with your SEVIS record: your DSO handles OPT and SEVIS questions, and the employer's attorney handles PERM.

Three numbers get mixed up constantly:

What each PERM case status means

The employer's FLAG account sorts PERM cases into five categories: Initiated, Pending Case Number, Assigned Case Number (cases in processing), Historical (decided cases) and Appeal. The decoder below uses the categories and status labels in DOL's FLAG PERM user guide (version 1.3, dated 2024-05-01) and the deadlines in 20 CFR Part 656.

PERM status labels and what they mean (as of 2026-11)

Two caveats. These labels come from the guide's description of the employer's account; DOL does not publish the values its public search shows in the Status column, so the wording there may differ. And the account's case table updates "approximately every 15 minutes", per the guide.

What does Analyst Review mean?

Analyst Review means the application is pending in DOL's main adjudication line and has not been certified, denied, audited or withdrawn. The label does not tell you whether an analyst has opened your file. Your filing month, compared with FLAG's Analyst Review row, tells you more.

Common misconception: "My case has said Analyst Review for ten months, so something must be wrong." Correction: as of 2026-10-21, FLAG's average for analyst review (its August 2026 row) was 303 calendar days. Ten months is roughly the average, not a warning sign on its own.

How does an audit show up in FLAG?

In the employer's FLAG account, an audited case shows Audit Review, and FLAG's actions for it become Audit Response, Request Extension and Withdraw. Under 20 CFR 656.20, the audit letter sets a date "30 days from the date of the audit letter" for the documents, and the Certifying Officer may grant one extension of up to 30 days. A substantial failure to respond leads to denial and can bring supervised recruitment on the employer's future filings for up to two years. The audit queue's current month is in the table below.

Triggers and the employer's audit file are covered in our guide to the PERM audit and how long DOL takes to review it.

What do Denied, Withdrawn and the appeal labels mean?

Under 20 CFR 656.24, a denial's Final Determination states the reasons. "The employer may request reconsideration within 30 days from the date of issuance of the denial," or ask the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) for review within 30 days; otherwise the denial becomes final. A withdrawal is permanent: the FLAG guide says a withdrawn application "cannot be reinstated for further processing." What a denial means for an H-1B worker is covered in what happens to your H-1B and priority date after a PERM denial.

What is the current PERM processing time?

As of 2026-10-21, DOL was adjudicating analyst-review cases filed in January 2026 and audit cases filed in December 2025, and analyst review averaged 303 calendar days (August 2026 figure). FLAG explains the posted months plainly: "These dates reflect the month and year in which cases were filed and are currently being adjudicated." This is a dated snapshot, not a live reading.

DOL PERM and PERM-wage queues (as of 2026-10-21 and 2026-09-30)

Source: DOL FLAG processing times. FLAG updates the PERM figures at the end of the first work week of each month, so the next update is expected around 2026-11-06; check the live page after that date. For the full start-to-finish picture, including recruitment and the wage step, see how long PERM labor certification really takes in 2026.

A worked timeline with real dates

Say your employer filed your Form ETA-9089 on 2026-01-20. The arithmetic below is ours, and the 303-day figure is DOL's August 2026 average, not a forecast for your case.

Example PERM timeline (rules and FLAG data as of 2026-11)

Change one fact. Filed in March 2026, the case is in a month FLAG has not reached, and "Analyst Review" is simply a place in line. Filed in August 2025 and still in Analyst Review, it is more than three months behind the posted month, the situation DOL's helpdesk note describes, so ask the attorney to follow up.

For H-1B workers the filing date matters beyond the queue. Under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D), a PERM or I-140 filed 365 or more days earlier can support one-year H-1B extensions past the six-year limit (8 CFR 214.2). Whether it fits your case is an attorney question.

How soon after PERM certification is the I-140 filed?

The employer must file the I-140 within 180 calendar days of certification. Under 20 CFR 656.30(b)(1), an approved certification "expires if not filed in support of a Form I-140 petition" within that window. USCIS puts it the same way on its I-140 page: "We must receive any Form I-140 based on an approved labor certification before the 180-day validity period has elapsed."

Under 20 CFR 656.24(d), the Certifying Officer sends the certified application and Final Determination to the employer or its attorney, and the employer decides when inside that window to file. The USCIS processing-times tool showed 3 months for EB-2 PERM-based I-140s on 2026-11-01 (80% of cases completed within), a dated snapshot. Once filed, you track the I-140 by its USCIS receipt number, as explained in checking your I-140 case status online. The 180-day clock itself, and what happens if it runs out, is covered in PERM certification's 180-day validity and the I-140. The whole sequence on H-1B is in getting your green card while on H-1B.

What a status lookup cannot tell you

• Why a case is moving or not. On 2026-10-08 DOL announced a PERM suspension for eight named employers: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. As of 2026-11-01 there is no written OFLC or FLAG notice, no Federal Register notice and no stated end date. It is not an H-1B suspension; Mayer Brown notes it "does not suspend any employer from the H-1B program" (Mayer Brown). More in our DOL PERM suspension explainer.
• What an audit letter or RFI actually asks for. Only the employer and its attorney see the letter.

Common mistakes

• Dropping the dashes. DOL's instruction is the full case number "including dashes".
• Searching the wrong number. A prevailing wage case number returns the wage request, not the PERM, and a USCIS receipt number returns nothing on FLAG.
• Treating the queue as current. The table above is DOL's 2026-10-21 snapshot; recheck the live page after each monthly update.
• Reading "Certified" as a green card. Certification is the first of three stages; the I-140 comes next, within 180 days.
• Panicking over "Certified-Expired" in tracker data. DOL lists the value without defining it, so do not read it as proof that no I-140 was filed. Ask the attorney.
• Contacting DOL as if you were the applicant. You are not a party. Route questions through your employer's attorney.
• Making job, travel or status decisions from a label. Those go to an immigration attorney, and anything touching F-1, OPT or SEVIS also goes to your DSO.

Frequently asked questions

Can I check my PERM status myself without my employer?

Yes, if you have the full case number. FLAG's public Case Status Search at flag.dol.gov takes the full case number, dashes included, and shows the employer name, job title, submit date and status without a login. You cannot see inside your employer's FLAG account, and because PERM is the employer's application, anything beyond a status lookup goes through your employer's immigration attorney.

Where do I find my PERM case number?

FLAG assigns the case number shortly after your employer or its attorney submits Form ETA-9089, and it appears in their FLAG account and on the certified application. Ask the attorney for the number and the filing date in writing. It is not the same as your prevailing wage (ETA-9141) case number or any USCIS receipt number.

What does analyst review mean on a PERM case?

Analyst Review means the application is pending in DOL's main adjudication line and has not been certified, denied, audited or withdrawn. As of 2026-10-21, FLAG showed analysts working on cases filed in January 2026, with a 303-day average for analyst-reviewed cases. Compare your filing month with that row rather than reading the label alone.

Does a PERM audit show up in the case status?

In your employer's FLAG account, yes. An audited case shows Audit Review, and the employer gets an audit letter with a response date 30 days from the letter's date under 20 CFR 656.20. As of 2026-10-21, DOL's audit queue was at December 2025 priority dates. Ask your employer's attorney what the letter requests.

What PERM priority dates is DOL processing now?

As of 2026-10-21, DOL's FLAG processing-times page showed analyst review at January 2026 priority dates, audit review at December 2025 and reconsideration requests at May 2026, with a 303-day average for analyst review. The next update was expected around 2026-11-06, so check flag.dol.gov/processingtimes for the latest figures.

Sources

• DOL FLAG, PERM and prevailing wage processing times (PERM as of 2026-10-21; PWD as of 2026-09-30)
• DOL FLAG, Case Status Search
• DOL FLAG, PERM online filing release notes (2023-08-31) and OFLC resumed-processing notice (2025-10-31)
• DOL FLAG, PERM user guide (version 1.3)
• DOL, Permanent Labor Certification
• DOL OFLC, performance data and disclosure files and the FY2026 Q2 PERM record layout
• 20 CFR 656.20, 656.24 and 656.30; 8 CFR 214.2
• USCIS, Form I-140 and USCIS processing times
• OIRA, regulatory reviews completed in the last 30 days
• P.L. 119-103, Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027

How we checked this: on 2026-11-01 we read DOL's FLAG processing-times page, the FLAG Case Status Search page, the FLAG PERM user guide and announcements, DOL's PERM disclosure record layout, 20 CFR Part 656 and USCIS's I-140 page. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your employer's immigration attorney, your DSO for anything F-1 or OPT, and your own case documents govern over anything published here.

If you are on STEM OPT or H-1B and want your next role to be with an employer that sponsors through PERM, F1Jobs helps international candidates focus their search on sponsoring employers.