PERM, LCA, and H-1B After the Shutdown: Timelines and Strategy in 2026

The federal shutdown that began on October 1, 2025 brought the Department of Labor’s (DOL) entire labor certification pipeline to a halt for thirty days. During that period, the FLAG portal was inaccessible, new PERM applications were not accepted, and pending prevailing wage and labor certification requests were frozen. On October 31, 2025, the DOL resumed processing, but the cascading effects on queues, audits, and adjudication timelines are still being felt in mid-2026.

For employers sponsoring H-1B, EB-2, and EB-3 workers, the message is clear: pre-shutdown normalcy has not returned. Every step in the process — Prevailing Wage Determination, PERM, and Labor Condition Application — requires more conservative planning, stronger documentation, and longer lead times than were standard in 2024.

This guide consolidates updated timeline benchmarks as of April 2026, the practical impact on H-1B extensions, I-140 petitions, and adjustment of status, and the mitigation strategies immigration law firms are recommending to their corporate clients.

What Changed After the Shutdown

Before the pause, non-audited PERM cases were being certified in approximately fifteen to sixteen months. After the resumption, the DOL had to simultaneously absorb the accumulated backlog and a pent-up volume of new filings. The result, observed throughout the first quarter of 2026, was a forward shift in the queue — but at an uneven pace between audited and non-audited cases.

Prevailing Wage Determinations based on Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data remain the quiet bottleneck in the process. Because they depend on classification by occupation, geographic area, and wage level, they are more vulnerable to manual review and became particularly sensitive to the backlog generated in October 2025.

Comparative Timeline Table

These estimates should be treated as conservative baselines. Cases involving recruitment audits, supervised recruitment, or a Request for Reconsideration tend to exceed the upper range, especially when they involve occupations with high filing density, such as software engineering, data science, and medicine.

Why the Timeline Matters

The extension of processing times is not merely an operational inconvenience. It directly affects the viability of sponsorship for different profiles of foreign workers.

Professionals approaching the six-year cap on H-1B status need a timely-filed PERM to trigger AC21 extensions, particularly those provided under Section 104(c). Without an approved PERM or I-140 filed within the correct timeframe, the worker loses the ability to extend beyond six years and may fall out of lawful status.

PERM delays also compress the subsequent steps. Because the I-140 can only be filed after labor certification, and the I-485 depends on visa number availability and an approved I-140, any prolongation pushes the entire green card timeline forward. For retrogressed nationalities such as India and China in EB-2 and EB-3, this can mean missing Final Action Date windows that open briefly in the Visa Bulletin.

Employers face workforce planning consequences as well. Critical, specialized positions now require lead times of more than eighteen months between the start of recruitment and certification. Nonprofits and grant-funded institutions — frequently tied to H-1B cap-exempt status — need to budget for longer periods of pendency and higher compliance costs.

Mitigation Strategies for Employers

The first priority is operational. Confirm in the FLAG portal that all pending cases are visible after the resumption, reopen any application that was left in draft status, and refile as soon as possible any petitions that were ready to submit when the shutdown occurred.

Monitor the cases filed as of indicator published by the DOL on a weekly basis. This marker is the best reference for estimating when your PERM will enter the active adjudication queue. Align HR and legal teams on the expectation that slow timelines will persist throughout 2026, and calibrate expectations with candidates and hiring managers accordingly.

Build realistic schedules. For new hires under PERM, plan on a minimum of sixteen to eighteen months between the start of recruitment and certification. For H-1B workers approaching their sixth year, initiate PERM at least eighteen months in advance and develop contingency plans from day one.

Strengthen Documentation Now

PERM audits are commonly triggered by inconsistencies detectable during automated review. Maintain detailed recruitment logs with dates, advertising sources, resumes received, and rejection justifications aligned with the position requirements. Confirm that the position’s requirements match the correct Standard Occupational Classification and the description used in the Prevailing Wage Request.

For the LCA step, verify that the employer’s FEIN is confirmed in the DOL system, that the mandatory job notice was posted physically or electronically before filing, and that the Public Access File is complete and archived. The Public Access File must be retained for at least one year after the end of employment or withdrawal of the LCA.

Consider Alternative Pathways

In time-constrained cases, it is worth evaluating routes that bypass PERM. The EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C categories do not require labor certification. EB-2 NIW is also a structural alternative for professionals with sufficient merit for self-sponsorship under the framework established by Matter of Dhanasar. Non-immigrant visas such as L-1 and O-1 can preserve status while the permanent pathway is built in parallel.

Concurrent filings and dual-track strategies preserve flexibility. In jurisdictions where the Visa Bulletin permits, filing EB-2 and EB-3 simultaneously — with downgrade or upgrade based on date movement — can accelerate green card acquisition without losing one’s place in the queue.

Special Focus: LCA Certification

The LCA is a mandatory prerequisite for filing Form I-129 for H-1B. Although historically certified within seven business days, the current window fluctuates between ten and fifteen business days due to the FLAG backlog and additional employer identity validation requirements.

Start LCA preparation early. Verify the offered salary against the prevailing wage and against the actual wage for the equivalent position within the company, ensure that the job notice posting met the required timing and location requirements, and confirm corporate data in the DOL system before submitting. LCA audits are less common, but the post-shutdown environment suggests greater scrutiny on filings with FEIN or wage documentation inconsistencies.

The DOL’s operational return is not a return to business as usual. Employers who internalize longer timelines, strengthen their documentation, and diversify their immigration pathways will enter 2027 with predictable schedules and a lower risk of status gaps. Those who delay adjustment will discover the cost in the most expensive way possible: with workers at risk of losing H-1B status or green cards stuck in an unresolvable chain.

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

Leading journalism and editorial content at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps make immigration topics clear, trustworthy, and easy to understand. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.