Are Delays in Employment-Based Green Cards Likely to Continue?

Employers and foreign workers are bracing for longer waits on employment-based green cards after a federal shutdown halted labor certifications and triggered a fresh backlog that is still rippling through the system months after agencies restarted. The pause stopped filings and froze pending cases at the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification, where the PERM step—required for most EB-2 and EB-3 immigrant visas—anchors the entire process.

With offices now back to normal schedules, officials and attorneys say the queue that built during the shutdown is pushing out the processing time for PERM decisions and delaying every step that follows, from the immigrant petition to adjustment of status.

Current processing times and backlog snapshot

The numbers point to the strain. As of September 2025, the average PERM processing time stands at 472 days (about 15.5 months), and some employers report even longer waits for cases that face audit or require reconsideration.

• The Labor Department is working through PERM applications filed in June 2024 and reconsideration requests lodged in July 2025.
• This indicates the backlog from the shutdown period—compounded by a surge in post-shutdown filings—has extended timelines well beyond what many HR teams had planned.

That slog at the Labor Department directly affects the next stage because employers cannot file the immigrant petition until the labor certification is approved.

How the delays cascade through the green card process

The chain effect is straightforward but costly in time:

1. PERM approval (labor certification) is required before filing Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker).
2. Form I-140 normally takes 4–6 months, but premium processing can shorten that to 15 calendar days for an extra fee.
   • Note: Premium processing accelerates the I-140 decision only after the I-140 is filed; it does not speed up a delayed PERM.
3. Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) depends on an approved I-140 and a current priority date under the State Department’s monthly visa bulletin.
   • When PERM backlog pushes filing dates later, workers can miss windows to file I-485 if their category retrogresses, stretching overall timelines further.

What caused the surge and why it persists

HR managers and counsel describe the shutdown as creating both a standstill and a stampede:

• During the pause, filings stopped.
• When offices reopened, many employers rushed to submit job orders, prevailing wage requests, and recruitment-based PERM applications that had been waiting.
• That post-shutdown flood, on top of the existing queue, stretched adjudications at OFLC units.

According to VisaVerge.com analysis, the post-shutdown surge will keep PERM queues elevated for several months even as examiners clear older cases. While agencies can increase staffing or reassign workloads, sustained demand tends to keep the line long until older cases cycle out.

Impacts on H-1B workers and status planning

For foreign workers on H-1B visas, the PERM delay creates a separate squeeze:

• H-1B status is generally capped at six years, with extensions possible in one-year or three-year increments when PERM and I-140 milestones are met.
• If a PERM is stuck in the backlog, workers nearing the six-year “max-out” must rely on:
  • early filings,
  • recapture time (documenting prior time abroad),
  • or alternative visa classifications.

Employers who planned to file PERM late in year five now rethink travel schedules and project assignments to preserve status options. Immigration counsel emphasize documenting worksite travel and prior periods abroad to “recapture” days and extend H-1B time while PERM and I-140 move forward.

Family and retention consequences

The uncertainty extends to families and employer retention:

• Spouses and children depend on the principal worker’s place in the queue; delayed PERM can postpone work authorization for certain dependents tied to adjustment-of-status filings.
• When the visa bulletin allows concurrent filing, a long PERM wait may foreclose that option.
• If the visa bulletin retrogresses—often in high-demand categories—workers face the double bind of a PERM delay followed by a visa number wait, pushing final green card approvals well beyond the usual horizon.
• Employers report retention challenges as workers weigh status stability versus career plans.

OFLC workload dynamics and reconsiderations

Government data and practitioner reports point to PERM as the driving bottleneck:

• OFLC’s posted processing times reflect heavy caseloads and extended queues for both initial reviews and reconsiderations.
• A shutdown that freezes intake and adjudication leaves adjudicators with two problems: cases already in hand and a new wave arriving all at once.
• Reconsideration requests after audits or denials also stack up, consuming examiner time and extending calendars for new approvals.
• The Labor Department’s current focus on applications from mid-2024 confirms the queue has not returned to pre-shutdown norms.

USCIS role and premium processing perspective

USCIS processing patterns remain steadier but cannot compensate for PERM delays:

• Employers can pay for premium processing on the I-140 to shorten that stage, but they must first have an approved PERM.
• Adjustment-of-status timing can vary by office workload and the visa bulletin, yet the long pole remains the labor certification step.
• Attorneys caution that premium processing is a downstream tool—useful for predictability but not a cure for OFLC backlog.
• Faster I-140 decisions may compress the timeline to file I-485 during favorable visa bulletin months, increasing the importance of monitoring cut-off dates.

For official guidance on immigrant petitions:
– See the I-140 instructions and filing page at https://www.uscis.gov/i-140.
– See I-485 requirements at https://www.uscis.gov/i-485.

Each page details eligibility, evidence, and filing addresses; together they show how the PERM decision governs the rest of the process.

Business planning and contingency strategies

Companies are already adjusting planning and budgeting:

• Extending recruitment timelines and budgeting for longer sponsorship cycles.
• Building buffers of several months to a year into internal mobility and promotion timing.
• Exploring alternative categories when appropriate (e.g., EB-1 for extraordinary ability or multinational managers), though these require higher standards and aren’t suitable for most roles.
• Reviewing hiring strategies in tight labor markets to weigh the risk of longer green card cycles against the need for specialized skills.

HR leads and counsel are mapping contingency plans now, including:
– earlier PERM starts for H-1B workers in years three and four,
– closer review of project assignments that could affect prevailing wage levels.

Practical tips for employers and workers

Workers and employers should stay proactive:

• Keep case files current and maintain recruitment evidence for potential PERM audits.
• Confirm that wage levels in prevailing wage requests align with offered roles.
• Monitor the Labor Department’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) processing time page for the most reliable view of the queue: https://flag.dol.gov/processingtimes.

Important: Employers who monitor FLAG updates can better plan case starts and anticipate when approvals are most likely, since the department’s estimates shift month to month as examiners tackle older filings and new surges.

Long-term effects on career and life decisions

The backlog affects career and personal planning:

• Workers who expected to file I-485 this year may now target next year or later, depending on priority dates.
• Retrogression in the visa bulletin during waits can delay access to travel advance parole or employment authorization tied to adjustment filings.
• Families may delay moves, home purchases, or school changes until status is more certain.
• Employers face greater difficulty relocating staff or committing to long-term projects tied to a worker’s presence.

Bottom line

Policy watchers note the post-shutdown surge will not dissipate immediately even with steady adjudication:

• The push-pull between paused activity and catch-up filing tends to leave a residual backlog for several quarters.
• Demand trends and PERM complexity (audits, supervised recruitment, reconsiderations) can keep processing times elevated.

The basic process remains unchanged:

• Employers must obtain PERM approval before filing the I-140.
• They may use premium processing on I-140 once filed to shorten that stage.
• Workers need an approved I-140 and a current priority date to file I-485.

For agency updates and posted averages, use the Labor Department’s FLAG processing time page at https://flag.dol.gov/processingtimes. Until the queue eases at the Labor Department, downstream steps will remain constrained, and employers planning sponsorship should build in additional time for delays that start at PERM and ripple through every stage that follows.