Processing Times

US District Court Settlement Agreement Reporting Requirement

In accordance with a settlement agreement reached in a consolidated lawsuit, Purdue University, et al., v. Scalia, et al., filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 20-cv-3006) See also Stellar IT, Inc. et al. v Scalia, et al. (No. 20-cv-3175), the Office of Foreign Labor Certification is making the following reports available to keep the general public informed about the reissuance of certain Prevailing Wage Determinations (PWDs) issued under the Department of Labor's Interim Final Rule (85 FR 63872) of October 8, 2020.

As of February 16, 2021, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification has completed reissuance of Phase I and Phase II PWDs in accordance with the settlement agreement.

Phase I: High Priority PWDs

The final report on reissuance of PWDs under one or more high priority categories is available here (updated as of February 17, 2021).

Phase II: Emergency Situations

PWD Reissuance Request Timeframe	Requests Received (excluding Phase I Eligible PWDs)	Requests Processed	Requests Pending*
IMPLEMENTATION OF DISTRICT COURT ORDER (12/01/2020)
Dec 4, 2020 - Jan 29, 2021	3,009	2,936	74

*Indicated the number of pending requests that were automatically eligible for Phase II reissuances as Emergency Situations under the Department's settlement agreement with the District Court and incorporated into the below report.

PWD Reissuance Request Timeframe	Requests Received (excluding Phase I Eligible PWDs)	Requests Processed	Requests Pending
IMPLEMENTATION OF DISTRICT COURT SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT 01/22/2021)
Jan 30 - Feb 6	45	1	119
Feb 7 - Feb 13**	12	115	17
Feb 14 - Feb 16	--	17	--

**In accordance with the Department's settlement agreement, February 8, 2021 was the last date for employers to affirmatively request reissuances of a PWD issued under the 2020 IFR based on an emergency situation.

**Prevailing Wage Determination Processing Times** *(as of 03/31/2021)*
Processing Queue	Request Date
CW-1	March 2021
H-1B	November 2020
H-2B	March 2021
PERM	October 2020
	Submission Date
Redeterminations	H-1B: March 2021 PERM: February 2021
Center Director Reviews	CW-1: None Pending H-1B: None Pending H-2B: None Pending PERM: February 2021

The above dates reflect the month and year in which applications were filed (request date) or submission date of the appeal request for Redeterminations or Center Director Review. The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) encourages employers to request a prevailing wage determination for the H-2B program at least 60 days before the date the determination is needed.

**Average Number of Days to Issue Wage Determinations**
Program	Month	OES (Calendar Days)	Non-OES (Calendar Days)
CW-1	March 2021	28	28
H-1B	March 2021	147	124
H-2B	March 2021	28	N/A
PERM	March 2021	146	127

These processing times indicate the average processing time for all prevailing wage applications for the most recent month. Actual processing times for each employer’s prevailing wage application may vary from the average depending on material facts and individual circumstances of the case.

**PERM Processing Times** *(as of 03/31/2021)*
Processing Queue	Priority Date
Analyst Review	August 2020
Audit Review	April 2020
Reconsideration Request to the CO	November 2020

These dates reflect the month and year in which cases were filed and are currently being adjudicated. The Reconsideration Request to the CO date reflects the month and year in which cases that are currently being reviewed were appealed. For various reasons, OFLC may be completing the processing of applications filed prior to the month posted. If your application was filed more than three months prior to the month posted, you may contact the OFLC PERM Helpdesk for a status on the application at plc.atlanta@dol.gov.

**Average Number of Days to Process PERM Applications**
Determinations	Month	Calendar Days
Analyst Review	March 2021	226
Audit Review	March 2021	352

These dates reflect the amount of time to process applications. Actual processing times for each employer’s PERM application may vary from the average depending on material facts and individual circumstances of the case. OFLC is reporting the average processing time for all PERM applications for the most recent month.

H-2A Processing Times (updated as of close of business 4/17/2021)

**I. Issuance of Initial Notices of Acceptance (NOA) or Deficiency (NOD)**
Case Receipt Week	Total Cases Submitted¹	Total Cases Issued First NOA or NOD	Percent Receipt Week Issued NOA or NOD
MOST RECENT WEEK COMPLETED
Apr 4 - Apr 10	302	302	100%
CURRENT PROCESSING STATUS
Apr 11 - Apr 17	234	69	29%

**II. Average Case Processing Times** *(measured in calendar days)*
Processing Activity	Total Cases	Current Status
Average Number of Days to Process Complete² Cases (cumulative over the last 2 weeks)	433	23 Calendar Days
Average Number of Days to Process Incomplete Cases (cumulative over the last 2 weeks)	246	33 Calendar Days

[1] Withdrawn and rejected applications are excluded from the total so these numbers may fluctuate.
[2] A complete H-2A application is defined as one containing all the documentation (e.g., housing inspection report, workers' compensation, recruitment report) necessary for the OFLC Certifying Officer to issue a final determination 30 days before the start date of need.

H-2B Processing Times (updated as of close of business 4/17/2021)

**Applications Received for Requested Date of Need from October 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021**
	STEP 1	STEP 2		STEP 3	STEP4
Filing Window	Total Cases Submitted³& Positions Requested	Total Cases Issued NOA or NOD	Percent of First NOA or Total NOD Issued	Total Cases Pending - Post NOA or NOD Issued⁴	Total Cases Issued Final Decision & Positions Certified
July 2020	1,059 (24,044 Workers)	1,059	100%	--	1,059 (22,921 Workers)
Aug 2020	275 (7,085 Workers)	275	100%	--	275 (6,906 Workers)
Sept 2020	257 (12,669 Workers)	257	100%	--	257 (12,219 Workers)
Oct 2020	329 (11,379 Workers)	329	100%	--	328 (10,457 Workers)
Nov 2020	166 (3,292 Workers)	166	100%	--	166 (3,018 Workers)
Dec 2020	146 (2,971 Workers)	146	100%	1 (10 Workers)	145 (2,907 Workers)
Jan 2021⁵	8 (116 Workers)	8	100%	1 (30 Workers)	7 (15 Workers)
Total Cases Issued Final Decision and Positions Certified (for FY 2021 First Half Visa Cap)					2,237 (58,443 Workers)

**Applications Received for Requested Date of Need from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021**
	STEP 1	STEP 2		STEP 3	STEP4
Filing Window	Total Cases Submitted⁴& Positions Requested	Total Cases Issued NOA or NOD	Percent of First NOA or Total NOD Issued	Total Cases Pending - Post NOA or NOD Issued³	Total Cases Issued Final Decision & Positions Certified
Jan 1-3 Group A	1,976 (34,646 Workers)	1,976	100%	2 (3 Workers)	1,974 (34,115 Workers)
Jan 1-3 Group B	1,009 (19,082 Workers)	1,009	100%	3 (47 Workers)	1,006 (18,706 Workers)
Jan 1-3 Group C	1,004 (19,161 Workers)	1,004	100%	4 (27 Workers)	1,000 (18,639 Workers)
Jan 1-3 Group D	1,029 (18,653 Workers)	1,029	100%	12 (132 Workers)	1,017 (18,067 Workers)
Jan 1-3 Group E	104 (1,556 Workers)	104	100%	--	104 (1,456 Workers)
Jan 4 - Jan 9	58 (1,341 Workers)	58	100%	--	58 (1,189 Workers)
Jan 10 - Jan 16	75 (979 Workers)	75	100%	6 (124 Workers)	69 (761 Workers)
Jan 17 - Jan 23	49 (613 Workers)	49	100%	4 (55 Workers)	45 (390 Workers)
Jan 24 - Jan 30	32 (525 Workers)	32	100%	10 (169 Workers)	21 (321 Workers)
Jan 31- Feb 6	129 (1,398 Workers)	129	100%	4 (116 Workers)	125 (1,182 Workers)
Feb 7 - 13	85 (570 Workers)	85	100%	2 (8 Workers)	83 (525 Workers)
Feb 14 - 20	87 (1,300 Workers)	87	100%	3 (29 Workers)	84 (1,255 Workers)
Feb 21 - 27	34 (433 Workers)	34	100%	14 (183 Workers)	20 (240 Workers)
Feb 28 - Mar 6	41 (587 Workers)	41	100%	4 (35 Workers)	37 (491 Workers)
Mar 7 - Mar 13	41 (599 Workers)	41	100%	13 (193 Workers)	28 (361 Workers)
Mar 14 - Mar 20	16 (286 Workers)	16	100%	5 (92 Workers)	11 (143 Workers)
Mar 21 - Mar 27	19 (353 Workers)	19	100%	11 (178 Workers)	8 (165 Workers)
Mar 28 - Apr 3	22 (263 Workers)	22	100%	22 (263 Workers)	--
Apr 4 - Apr 10	12 (247 Workers)	12	100%	12 (247 Workers)	--
Apr 11 - Apr 17	15 (153 Workers)	2	13.3%	2 (26 Workers)	--
Total Cases Issued Final Decision and Positions Certified (for FY 2021 Second Half Visa Cap)					5,690 (98,006 Workers)

[3] Withdrawn and rejected applications are excluded from the total so these numbers may fluctuate.
[4] Total number of pending applications that received a NOA and are actively recruiting for U.S. workers or responding to a NOD.

**CW-1 Processing Times⁸** *(updated as of close of business 4/17/2021)*
	STEP 1	STEP 2		STEP 3	STEP4
Month of Receipt	Total Cases Submitted⁹& Positions Requested	Total Cases Issued NOA or NOD	Percent of First NOA or Total NOD Issued	Total Cases Pending - Post NOA or NOD Issued¹⁰	Total Cases Issued Final Decision & Positions Certified
October	83 (470 Positions)	83	100%	--	83 (392 Workers)
November	197 (610 Workers)	197	100%	--	197 (517 Workers)
December	119 (434 Workers)	119	100%	--	119 (300 Workers)
January	68 (427 Workers)	68	100%	1 (1 Worker)	67 (106 Workers)
February	90 (315 Workers)	90	100%	5 (9 Workers)	85 (219 Workers)
March	72 (414 Workers)	72	100%	55 (381 Workers)	17 (26 Workers)
April	517 (1,510 Workers)	494	95.6%	493 (1,418 Workers)	1 (0 Workers)

**Types of Applications**
	STEP 1	STEP 2		STEP 3	STEP 4
Application Type	Total Cases Submitted² & Positions Requested	Total Cases Issued NOA or NOD	Percent of First NOA or Total NOD Issued	Total Cases Pending - Post NOA or NOD Issued³	Total Cases Issued Final Decision & Positions Certified
New CW-1 Visas¹¹	513 (2,430 Workers)	510	99.4%	81 (439 Workers)	429 (1,330 Workers)
Renewal of CW-1 Visas¹²	633 (1,750 Workers)	613	96.8%	473 (1,370 Workers)	140 (230 Workers)
TOTALS	1,146 (4,180 Workers)	1,123	98.0%	554 (1,809 Workers)	569 (1,560 Workers)

⁸CW-1 worker means any foreign worker who is lawfully present in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and authorized by Department of Homeland Security to perform temporary labor or services under 48 U.S.C. 1806(d).
⁹Figures may change slightly because applications submitted and subsequently withdrawn are excluded.
¹⁰Total number of pending applications that either received a NOA and actively recruiting for U.S. workers or responding to a NOD.
¹¹Indicates employer is requesting to hire a foreign worker who is not already performing work in the CNMI in CW-1 visa status.
¹²Indicates employer is requesting to extend the employment of a foreign worker in CW-1 visa status.