Department of Labor information:
DOL Latest News
September was a consequential month for PERM processing and enforcement. As of September 22, 2026, the DOL was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in December 2025 or earlier, with an average processing time of 336 days for cases in the standard queue . Prevailing wage determinations were being issued for requests filed in June 2026, maintaining the roughly three-month lag at the front end of the PERM process .
The most dramatic development came on September 8, when the DOL's Inspector General announced the suspension of Cognizant's PERM filings as part of the expanding "Project Firewall" investigation . Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito stated that "threats to American workers will not be tolerated" and warned that "handcuffs await," signaling an escalation from civil enforcement to potential criminal referrals . The suspension prevents Cognizant from filing new PERM applications while the investigation proceeds, and industry observers are watching closely to see whether other major employers face similar action .
For EB-3 unskilled employers and applicants, this enforcement posture underscores the importance of rigorous recruitment documentation and genuine good-faith testing of the U.S.
September 2026
September 2026 BDV Immigration Update
September closed out the fiscal year with a sharp reversal for EB-3 unskilled applicants. The October Visa Bulletin, the first bulletin of the new fiscal year, brought significant retrogression across both the Final Action Date and Dates for Filing charts for unskilled workers. Despite the backward movement, BDV delivered a strong month operationally, with 59 Green Card approvals and 342 Labor Certification approvals—the highest PERM figure in recent months. The retrogression reflects the State Department's annual recalibration of visa demand as the new fiscal year begins, and applicants with already-filed I-485 applications are largely shielded from the immediate impact.
BDV Approvals (August 2026):
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Green Card approvals: 59
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Labor Certification (PERM) approvals: 342
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I-140 approvals: 21
USCIS Visa Bulletin
The October Visa Bulletin delivered significant backward movement for unskilled workers.
Final action date: 01JAN22 (3 months backward from September visa bulletin)
Dates for filing: 01JUN22 (2 months backward from September visa bulletin)
USCIS will use the Dates for Filing Chart for I-485 filings in October. In practice, this creates a filing window for priority dates between 1APR22 and 1JUN22. However, most applicants in this range have already filed their I-485 applications during the prior months when the Final Action Date was more advanced.