Overview: An EB-3 green card through Labor certification (PERM)The Department of Labor process in which an employer shows that no qualified U.S. worker is available for a position, required for most EB-2 and EB-3 petitions.See it in the glossary moves through the same stages every time: a prevailing wage determination, recruitment, the PERM filing, Form I-140Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, filed by an employer (or in some categories the worker) to classify a person under an employment-based category.See it in the glossary, the visa queue, and the final green card application. The slowest single step right now is Department of Labor review. As of DOL’s late-August 2026 update, PERM applications completed that month had taken an average of 336 days. Here is the EB-3 timeline stage by stage.
Stage 1: prevailing wage determination
The employer asks DOL’s National Prevailing Wage Center to set the minimum wage for the job on Form ETA-9141. In DOL’s update covering data through August 31, 2026, the center was processing PERM wage requests filed in May 2026, according to this report. Those queue dates show which filing month is under review, not a guaranteed completion date.
Stage 2: recruitment
Before filing, the employer tests the U.S. labor market through required advertising and recruitment steps, then reviews any applicants. The rules on what to post, where, and when are detailed. Our article on what PERM asks of employers walks through them.
Stage 3: PERM filing and DOL review
The employer files the labor certification, and that filing date becomes the worker’s Priority dateThe date a petition was filed, or a labor certification was submitted, used to determine an applicant's place in line for a visa category with limited annual numbers.See it in the glossary. In the same August 2026 data, DOL was reviewing applications filed in November 2025, and those it completed in August had averaged 336 calendar days, per this DOL summary. Cases selected for audit take longer. There is no Premium processingAn optional USCIS service, requested on Form I-907 with an additional fee, that sets a fixed time frame for USCIS to act on certain petitions and applications. Within that time USCIS must issue an approval, denial, request for evidence or notice of intent to deny, or open a fraud investigation. It speeds up when USCIS acts, not the standard the case must meet, and only some forms and categories are eligible.See it in the glossary option at DOL.
Stage 4: Form I-140
After certification, the employer files Form I-140 with USCIS and shows it can pay the offered wage. EB-3 petitions can use premium processing, which commits USCIS to act within 15 business days for a separate fee. Our guide to premium processing explains how that works.
Stage 5: the visa queue
An approved I-140 does not end the wait. The worker needs a visa number, which depends on the priority date and country of birth. In the October 2026 Visa BulletinA monthly State Department publication showing which family and employment visa categories currently have visas available.See it in the glossary, the EB-3 Final Action DatesThe Visa Bulletin chart showing the priority dates for which a visa number can actually be issued or a green card approved in that month.See it in the glossary were May 15, 2024 for most countries, August 15, 2023 for the Philippines, January 8, 2022 for China, and January 1, 2014 for India, per this October 2026 summary. USCIS let employment-based applicants use the Dates for FilingThe Visa Bulletin chart showing the earliest priority dates for which applicants may submit documents, or in some months file for adjustment of status, ahead of a visa number being available.See it in the glossary chart that month. Jobs requiring less than two years of experience follow the separate other workers line.
Stage 6: the green card application
Once the priority date is reached on the chart USCIS designates, a worker in the United States files Form I-485Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, the form used to apply for a green card from inside the United States.See it in the glossary, and a worker abroad completes consular processing. For how long adjustment has taken over the past decade, see our analysis of I-485 processing trends.
Each stage’s timing changes month to month, so check DOL’s FLAG processing times page, the USCIS processing times page, and the current Visa Bulletin before planning around any figure here.