Asking 'how long does PERM take in 2026?' has a moving answer. The DOL works PERM in strict submission-month order, throughput now sits at roughly 600+ cases per business day, and total wait time from ETA Form 9089 filing to certification lands around 14 to 17 months for clean cases. This article walks through the timeline step by step and shows how to read the live PERM Timeline 2026 table on the PermQueue home page.
The short answer
In 2026 a clean PERM (no audit, no RFI) typically takes about 14–17 months from the day the ETA Form 9089 is filed to certification. Cases that hit an RFI or audit add several months on top.
The number changes every month as the DOL's backlog and daily throughput change. The PERM Timeline 2026 table on the home page is rebuilt from live DOL data, so it always reflects the current state — not a snapshot from 2024.
How the PERM timeline is built
PERM cases are queued by submission month. The DOL finishes deciding all (or nearly all) of one month's filings before moving on to the next. That's why the timeline is a calendar of filing months, not a single average.
For each filing month the table shows: how many cases were filed that month, how many have already been decided (certified, denied, RFI, withdrawn), how many are still pending, and which month is currently 'Active' — meaning the DOL is actively issuing decisions on it right now.
When your filing month becomes the active month, your case is being worked. Within a month, the DOL decides cases roughly in alphabetical order by employer legal name (see the alphabetical-order article).
How to estimate your own PERM timeline
Find your filing month in the home's PERM Timeline 2026 table. Count how many months sit between it and the currently active month — that's your queue depth in months.
Multiply by the average month-to-month progression you can see across recent rows (usually about one filing month per calendar month at current throughput).
Add the time it takes the DOL to clear your specific month once it becomes active. The Calculator on the home page does this end-to-end with your sponsor's first letter factored in.
What slows a PERM down in 2026
RFI (Request for Information): adds 2–4 months while you respond and the DOL re-reviews.
Audit: adds 6–12 months on top of the base timeline.
Sponsor name late in the alphabet: within an active month, employers starting with letters near A–C are decided first; names near W–Z wait the longest.
Errors on ETA Form 9089: any factual mismatch (wages, job duties, recruitment) is a near-certain RFI.
What's actually getting better
DOL throughput has roughly tripled vs. the 200/day figure still quoted in older articles — see PermQueue's analysis 'The PERM queue is shrinking: what the 2026 data shows'.
That higher throughput is the reason the average wait days card on the home page has been trending down month over month in 2026.
Where to track this live
Live PERM Timeline 2026 table and average wait card: home page of PermQueue.
Your own case position and ETA: the Calculator on the home page (enter sponsor name and filing month).
Visa Bulletin (the step after PERM + I-140): the Visa Bulletin page on PermQueue.