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Prevailing wage processing times

Official FLAG prevailing wage determination context

The prevailing wage determination (PWD) is a separate DOL queue that comes before PERM. FLAG reports the receipt-date month the National Prevailing Wage Center is working through in each queue — it can set expectations, but it cannot predict an individual ETA-9141 request.

Source

FLAG

Fetched

Sep 23, 2026

Status

completed

Official FLAG pageDate retrieved: Sep 23, 2026PERM processing timesSearch LCA & PERM recordsSource status

FLAG prevailing wage processing-time section last verified against flag.dol.gov/processingtimes.

How long is the queue right now

What the official numbers actually say about the wait

A prevailing wage determination has no published processing time in days. As of the DOL FLAG snapshot dated 8/31/2026, the National Prevailing Wage Center was working through PERM OEWS requests received in May 2026 (about 3 months behind the snapshot date); PERM Non-OEWS requests received in May 2026 (about 3 months behind the snapshot date); H-1B OEWS requests received in May 2026 (about 3 months behind the snapshot date); H-1B Non-OEWS requests received in May 2026 (about 3 months behind the snapshot date). FLAG also lists 47,941 PERM prevailing wage requests still remaining in the queue. That gap between the receipt month being worked and the snapshot date — about 3 months for PERM OEWS — is a queue position across many requests, not a prediction for a specific ETA-9141.

Derived from FLAG

PERM · OEWS

~3 months

Working May 2026 receipts as of 8/31/2026

PERM · Non-OEWS

~3 months

Working May 2026 receipts as of 8/31/2026

H-1B · OEWS

~3 months

Working May 2026 receipts as of 8/31/2026

H-1B · Non-OEWS

~3 months

Working May 2026 receipts as of 8/31/2026

FLAG also publishes the remaining-request backlog behind those months: 47,941 PERM prevailing wage requests still in the queue on the 8/31/2026 snapshot. The per-month split is in the table below.

Each figure is the whole-month gap between the receipt month FLAG reports it is working and FLAG’s own “data as of” date, recomputed from every imported snapshot. It is not a target, an SLA, or a prediction for an individual ETA-9141.

PWD vs PERM

Where the prevailing wage step sits — and why it is a separate wait

A prevailing wage determination runs at the National Prevailing Wage Center on Form ETA-9141, before recruitment and before the PERM (ETA-9089) is filed. FLAG reports it in its own section, so a full green-card timeline stacks the PWD queue ahead of the PERM analyst-review queue.

Two separate queues
Wage source: OEWS vs survey

OEWS-based requests follow the standard wage-library lookup, while non-OEWS requests tied to an employer-provided survey need extra review of the survey's methodology — which is why FLAG reports the two queues separately.

Program and visa type

A single prevailing wage request is filed on Form ETA-9141 for H-1B, H-2B, CW-1, or PERM. FLAG reports the receipt-date month per program, so the queue you read depends on the case the wage feeds.

Where it sits before PERM

A PWD is step one, before recruitment and before the ETA-9089 PERM filing. The PWD validity window has to still cover the recruitment and filing dates, so the PWD queue is a separate wait that comes ahead of the PERM analyst-review queue.

Redetermination and review add separate waits

If an employer disputes an issued wage, the redetermination and Center Director Review queues add their own receipt-date backlogs on top of the initial determination time.

How to read it

The FLAG prevailing wage queues, explained

FLAG splits prevailing wage timing into queues by wage source and review stage. Each reports the receipt-date month the National Prevailing Wage Center is currently processing.

Official FLAG queues
OEWS receipt-date queue

Requests where the prevailing wage is set from the DOL Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. FLAG lists the receipt-date month the National Prevailing Wage Center is currently working through for OEWS-based requests, by program (including H-1B and PERM).

Non-OEWS receipt-date queue

Requests that rely on an employer-provided or other approved wage survey instead of OEWS. FLAG reports a separate receipt-date month for this queue, which usually runs differently from the OEWS queue because survey review takes added analyst time.

Redeterminations

Where an employer asks the National Prevailing Wage Center to redetermine an issued wage. FLAG shows the receipt month of redetermination requests currently being worked for H-1B and PERM — a separate, typically slower track than an initial determination.

Center Director Review

The appeal stage after a redetermination, where the NPWC Center Director reviews the wage. FLAG lists the month of Center Director Review requests being processed, signalling the backlog at the final administrative-review step before BALCA.

Official FLAG queues

Prevailing wage receipt-date months by program

Parsed directly from the FLAG Prevailing Wage Determination Processing Times section: the receipt-date month being processed for each program by wage source (OEWS vs Non-OEWS), the redetermination and Center Director Review queues, and the published remaining-request backlog by month.

Structured FLAG data
FLAG prevailing wage determination receipt-date months by program and wage source, as of 8/31/2026
Processing queueOEWS receipt dateNon-OEWS receipt date
CW-1May 2026—
H-1BMay 2026May 2026
H-2BJuly 2026—
PERMMay 2026May 2026

Each cell is the receipt-date month the National Prevailing Wage Center reports it is working through for that program and wage source. A dash means FLAG lists no queue (for example, CW-1 has no Non-OEWS wage source). These are general queue positions, not a prediction for a specific ETA-9141 request.

Redeterminations
H-1B
June 2026
PERM
June 2026
Center Director Reviews
CW-1
August 2026
H-1B
July 2026
H-2B
May 2026
PERM
June 2026
CW-1 remaining requests
Receipt monthRemaining requests
March 20263
April 202613
May 20264
June 20268
July 202660
August 2026165
Total in queue253
H-1B remaining requests
Receipt monthRemaining requests
November 20251
December 20250
January 20260
February 20260
March 20260
April 20266
May 202641
June 2026303
July 2026233
August 2026176
Total in queue760
H-2B remaining requests
Receipt monthRemaining requests
July 2026206
August 20263,671
Total in queue3,877
PERM remaining requests
Receipt monthRemaining requests
February 20261
March 202617
April 202685
May 20262,683
June 202615,781
July 202615,185
August 202614,189
Total in queue47,941

Remaining-request counts are FLAG's published backlog by receipt month. Withdrawn and voided requests are excluded, so earlier months can fluctuate between updates.

FLAG PWD section dated 8/31/2026. Imported Sep 23, 2026 from flag.dol.gov/processingtimes. These are general queue positions, not case-specific predictions.

Extracted context

Latest imported prevailing-wage snippets

These snippets are pulled from the same FLAG snapshot so you can see what public prevailing-wage context the page is relying on.

From the FLAG snapshot

PERM Prevailing Wages Wage Data Wage Data OFLC Wage Search OFLC Wage Data Downloads H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) H-2A Labor Supply State Determinations H-

Prevailing Wage Determination Processing Times (as of 8/31/2026) Processing Queue OEWS Receipt Date i Non-OEWS Receipt Date i CW-1 May 2026 -- H-1B May 2026 May 2026 H-2B July

prevailing wage determination for the H-2B program at least 60 days before the date the determination is needed

processing times indicate the average processing time for all prevailing wage applications received in a specific month

prevailing wage determination for the H-2B program at least 60 days before the date the determination is needed

Keep researching

Move from timing context into the filing data

These views keep the official-source trail close to the prevailing-wage, PERM, and LCA records the timing context applies to.

Official DOL data
PERM processing timesThe next queue after the prevailing wage step — DOL FLAG Analyst Review and Audit Review timing context for the ETA-9089.Search LCA and PERM recordsLook up an employer's H-1B LCA and PERM disclosure filings, including the prevailing-wage fields on each record.Source statusCheck when the FLAG processing-time snapshot was last fetched, with row counts and job status.

LCA and PERM rows are filing signals, not USCIS approvals, green-card approvals, legal advice, or outcome predictions.

FAQ

Common questions

How long does a prevailing wage determination take?

DOL publishes no processing time in days. What it does publish is the receipt-date month the National Prevailing Wage Center is currently working through in each queue, stamped with a 'data as of' date — so the honest measure of the wait is the gap between those two. On the FLAG snapshot dated 6/30/2026 the PERM OEWS queue was working April 2026 receipts (about 2 months behind the snapshot) and the PERM non-OEWS queue was working March 2026 receipts (about 3 months), with roughly 50,300 PERM requests still remaining. VisaSignal recomputes that gap from each imported snapshot, so the figure shown on this page moves when FLAG moves. It is a queue position across many requests, not a date for any one ETA-9141.

What is the current prevailing wage wait time?

Read it as elapsed months, not a target. Take the receipt-date month FLAG shows for your queue — the program (H-1B, H-2B, CW-1 or PERM) crossed with the wage source (OEWS or non-OEWS) — and count forward to FLAG's own 'data as of' date. On the 6/30/2026 snapshot both the H-1B and PERM OEWS queues sat about 2 months back and both non-OEWS queues about 3 months back. A non-OEWS request generally waits longer because the employer-provided survey has to be reviewed on top of the wage lookup, and a redetermination or Center Director Review restarts a separate queue with its own backlog.

What is the difference between prevailing wage and PERM processing times?

They are two separate DOL queues. The prevailing wage determination (PWD) runs at the National Prevailing Wage Center and comes first — it sets the minimum wage the role must offer. PERM (the ETA-9089 labor certification) is filed afterward and runs in its own Analyst Review and Audit Review queues. FLAG reports each separately, so a 'PW - PERM processing time' is really two waits in sequence: the PWD queue, then the PERM queue.

What is the difference between the OEWS and non-OEWS prevailing wage queues?

OEWS requests set the wage from the DOL Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Non-OEWS requests use an employer-provided or other approved wage survey, which needs added analyst review of the survey itself. FLAG lists a separate receipt-date month for each queue because they typically move at different speeds.

Where can I track prevailing wage determination processing times?

The authoritative source is the public DOL FLAG processing-times page at flag.dol.gov/processingtimes, in its 'Prevailing Wage Determination Processing Times' section. VisaSignal imports that snapshot and shows when it was fetched so you can judge how current it is, instead of relying on crowd-sourced trackers.

What affects how long a prevailing wage determination takes?

Mainly the wage source (OEWS versus an employer-provided survey), the program the wage feeds (H-1B, H-2B, CW-1, or PERM), and whether the request becomes a redetermination or Center Director Review. Each of those is a separate FLAG queue with its own receipt-date backlog.

Is the prevailing wage processing time a prediction for my case?

No. FLAG prevailing wage processing times are official general context showing queue position by receipt month. They should not be read as a prediction for a specific ETA-9141 request.

Does an LCA certification mean an H-1B petition was approved?

No. A DOL-certified LCA is not the same as USCIS H-1B petition approval. It is an official labor-condition filing signal that should be interpreted with that limit.

Does a PERM certification mean a green card was approved?

No. PERM certification is one step in an employment-based green card process. It does not mean a green card, I-140 petition, or adjustment of status was approved.

Can this data prove an employer will sponsor a candidate?

No. Official filing history can show recent activity, roles, worksites, and wage signals, but it does not guarantee future sponsorship or predict legal outcomes.