Hi All! The Department of Labor (DOL) issued Permanent Labor Certification statistics for Fiscal Year 2014 (FY2014) that I thought I would share with you!

The DOL was quite busy with PERM applications in FY2014!  We also see them getting the job done with about a 6 month turnaround for initial review once the application is filed, which is much better than last year when it was taking about 8 months!

For FY2014 (October 1^st, 2013 to September 30, 2014), the DOL received 74,936 Permanent Labor Certification applications, with the 4^th quarter showing the highest amount received for FY2014.

Total, in FY2014, 62,633 cases have been certified, 4,349 denied, and 4,016 withdrawn.

Further, about 59,901 applications were pending as of 09/30/2014. The processing status of active PERM applications is as follows:

1. Analyst Review: 60% of active PERM applications were under initial review
2. Audit Review: 30% of active PERM applications were under Audit Review
3. Appeal: 9% of active PERM applications were on appeal

Review of Applications Certified in FY2014:

Not surprisingly, India was the top country of citizenship for those individuals who had PERM applications certified. The top 5 Countries of citizenship are as follows:

1. India: 56%
2. China: 7%
3. Canada: 5%
4. South Korea: 4%
5. Philippines: 2%

The H-1B was the top Visa Classification at a whopping 83%. The top 5 are as follows:

1. H-1B: 83%
2. L-1: 5%
3. Blank: 3%
4. F-1: 3%
5. TN: 1%

Again, not surprisingly, the top occupation listed for certified applications was Computer & Mathematical occupations at 57%. The top 5 are as follows:

1. Computer & Mathematical: 57%
2. Architecture & Engineering: 12%
3. Management: 8%
4. Business and Financial Operations: 6%
5. Education, training and library: 5%

The top industry for certified applications was in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services field at 44%. The top 5 industries are as follows:

1. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: 44%
2. Manufacturing: 16%
3. Information: 10%
4. Education Services: 7%
5. Finance and Insurance: 6%

If at any time you would like to check processing times for Permanent Labor Certification applications under Analyst Review and Audit Review, you can visit the DOL Employer and Training Administration website. Once there, please click on the tab labeled “PERM & PW Processing Times”.