This guide is for attorneys, paralegals and HR teams with a PERM case in recruitment, and for anyone who wants to check the dates on their own case. The ETA-9089 can be filed only inside a window that two dates set, and a third can close it early. Here's the whole calculation on one example case.
The window in one line
It opens 30 days after the last mandatory recruitment step ends, and closes 180 days after the first step began. The wage determination's expiry closes it earlier only when recruitment didn't begin inside the determination's validity period.
The rules behind each date
| Date | What sets it | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Window opens | The last mandatory step: the 30-day job order and the two Sunday ads | "at least 30 days, but no more than 180 days, before the filing" (20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e)(1)(i) (2025)) |
| Window closes | The first recruitment step, including a professional job's additional steps | mandatory steps "no more than 180 days" before filing (§ 656.17(e)(1)(i)); additional steps likewise (§ 656.17(e)(1)(ii)) |
| Notice of filing | Posted 10 consecutive business days | "between 30 and 180 days before filing" (§ 656.10(d)(3)(iv)) |
| Wage determination expiry | The validity period printed on the determination | file "or begin the recruitment period" inside it (§ 656.40(c)) |
For a professional job, three additional steps come on top of the mandatory ones, and one of them may fall inside the last 30 days before filing. So the latest additional step doesn't hold the window shut, but all three count toward the 180 days.
One case, step by step
A professional job. The wage determination is dated March 10, 2026, and expires June 30, 2026.
| Step | Dates |
|---|---|
| Job order with the state workforce agency | April 6 to May 6, 2026 |
| Sunday ads | April 12 and April 19, 2026 |
| Notice of filing | April 6 to April 17, 2026 |
| Employer's website | April 6 to May 6, 2026 |
| Job search website | April 6 to May 6, 2026 |
| Local newspaper | May 3, 2026 |
Find the last day the mandatory steps ran
The job order ends May 6, after the second Sunday ad (April 19) and the notice (April 17). So the last day is May 6, 2026.
Add 30 days: the window opens
May 6 plus 30 days is June 5, 2026. Filing before then is too early.
Find the first day any step began
The job order, the notice and two of the additional steps all began April 6, 2026.
Add 180 days: the window closes
April 6 plus 180 days is October 3, 2026, the last day to file on this recruitment.
Check the wage determination
The first step (April 6) falls between the determination date (March 10) and its expiry (June 30). Recruitment began inside the validity period, so the expiry doesn't close the window. It stays open from June 5 through October 3, about three months after the determination expires.
If recruitment commenced before the determination was issued
If recruitment commenced before the determination was issued, the wage cannot be used for filing after the PWD expiration date.
| When recruitment began | Window opens | Window closes | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inside the validity period (example above) | June 5, 2026 | October 3, 2026 | Section 656.40(c) is met by beginning recruitment; the 180-day rule alone closes it |
| Before the determination date | June 5, 2026 | The PWD expiration date | File inside the validity period (Karl Storz) |
| After the expiry | - | - | This determination can't be used; request a new one |
| Determination date not known | June 5, 2026 | The PWD expiration date | PERM Tracker takes the stricter reading until the date is entered |
The second row is the one that catches cases. The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals held in Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, No. 2011-PER-00040, slip op. at 15–16 (BALCA Dec. 1, 2011) (en banc), that "begin the recruitment" means conducting the first recruitment step, and that an employer who starts before receiving its determination "must file its application within the PWD validity period." The prevailing wage expiry guide walks through that decision and a 2015 one that went the other way.
The notice of filing comes from a different section, § 656.10(d), so PERM Tracker doesn't count it as beginning recruitment for this test. It does count toward the 180 days, because § 656.10(d)(3)(iv) gives it the same outer limit.
Run your own dates
The PERM deadline calculator takes the determination date, the first recruitment date and the last, and shows when the window opens and closes and whether the determination limits it. In the app, a case's filing window updates as its dates are saved, and says so when the determination's expiry is what closes it.
Two things the calculation can't settle for you:
- When a step really began. It's usually the date on the job order or the ad, but an ongoing step such as an employee referral program begins when employees learn of the opening. That point decided Mphasis Corp., No. 2011-PER-00207, slip op. at 3 (BALCA Aug. 10, 2015).
- Weekends and holidays. Part 656 says nothing about a deadline that falls on one, so don't count on the next business day: file before the last day.
Nothing here is legal advice. Check the dates with the attorney on the case.
