Every case status, explained
The words DOL's FLAG system puts on a PERM, a prevailing wage request or an H-1B LCA, what each one means, which regulation says so, and how many cases carry it today. Where DOL publishes no definition, the entry says that instead of guessing.
PERM (ETA-9089)
Counts are cases in that status across every filing month, as DOL showed them on September 16, 2026. A count says how common the state is and nothing about how long any one case stays in it.
Waiting in line
Nothing has been asked of anyone. The case is in DOL's ordinary queue, worked in filing order.
Analyst Review ANALYST REVIEW Waiting 89,024 now, as of September 16, 2026 The ordinary queue.
An analyst will work through it in filing order, and until they reach it nothing about the case changes. This is where the overwhelming majority of pending cases sit, and waiting is the whole of it.
No published definition. DOL's FLAG workflow uses the word and no section of 20 CFR 656 defines it.
In Process IN PROCESS Waiting 0 now, as of September 16, 2026 A pending state that sits alongside analyst review.
DOL publishes no definition separating the two, and there are few enough cases in it that no pattern can be read off the data either.
No published definition. DOL's FLAG workflow uses the word and no section of 20 CFR 656 defines it.
Application On Hold APPLICATION ON HOLD Waiting 1,854 now, as of September 16, 2026 The case is pending and has been set aside from the ordinary queue.
DOL publishes no definition for this state, so what put a particular case into it is not something this page can tell you.
Who acts: The employer's attorney can ask DOL directly. Nothing on a public page will answer it.
No published definition. DOL's FLAG workflow uses the word and no section of 20 CFR 656 defines it.
Determination Issued DETERMINATION ISSUED Waiting 0 now, as of September 16, 2026 A decision has been issued on the case, and the live status has not yet settled to the outcome.
DOL publishes no definition for this intermediate state.
No published definition. DOL's FLAG workflow uses the word and no section of 20 CFR 656 defines it.
Something is due
DOL has asked the employer for something and a clock is running. These are the statuses with a deadline in the regulation.
RFI Issued RFI ISSUED Something is due 937 now, as of September 16, 2026 DOL has asked the employer for more information before it decides.
The regulation lets the Certifying Officer request supplemental information or documentation at any point before a final determination. An RFI is not an audit: an audit is a formal instrument under a different subsection with a fixed 30-day clock, and DOL runs the two as separate statuses in separate queues.
The clock: Whatever the letter says. The regulation sets no fixed window for this one, unlike an audit.
Who acts: The employer has to answer. The letter itself sets the deadline, and missing it is how a case that was going to be certified gets denied instead.
Source: 20 CFR 656.20(d)(1)
Pending Audit Response PENDING AUDIT RESPONSE Something is due 1 now, as of September 16, 2026 The case was selected for audit, either because the review raised something or at random for quality control, and DOL is waiting on the documents.
The clock: 30 days from the date of the audit letter. The Certifying Officer may grant one extension of up to 30 more days, at their discretion.
Who acts: The employer has to send the documentation the audit letter lists. Missing the date does not just risk a denial, it counts as a refusal to exhaust administrative remedies, and that closes the door on a BALCA appeal.
Source: 20 CFR 656.20(a)(2)
Supervised Recruitment SUPERVISED RECRUITMENT Something is due 3 now, as of September 16, 2026 DOL has taken over the recruitment.
The employer has to advertise again, where DOL tells it to, with wording DOL approves first, and applications go to the Certifying Officer rather than to the employer.
The clock: 30 days from being notified that supervised recruitment is required.
Who acts: The employer has to supply a draft advertisement to the Certifying Officer for approval.
Source: 20 CFR 656.21(b)(1)
NORD Issued NORD ISSUED Something is due 130 now, as of September 16, 2026 DOL does not publish an expansion of this acronym or a definition of the state, so this page will not put one on it.
What is measurable is that it is a pending state, and that it holds very few cases.
Who acts: The notice itself says what DOL wants and by when. The employer's attorney has it.
No published definition. DOL's FLAG workflow uses the word and no section of 20 CFR 656 defines it.
Under appeal
A denial is being contested. Each step has its own window and its own decision-maker.
Reconsideration Appeals RECONSIDERATION APPEALS Under appeal 2,406 now, as of September 16, 2026 The case was denied and the employer asked the Certifying Officer to look again.
Reconsideration is narrow on purpose: it can only rely on documents DOL already received, or documents that existed when the application was filed and were kept to support it.
The clock: The request had to be sent within 30 days of the denial being issued.
Who acts: The Certifying Officer decides whether to reconsider, and may instead treat the request as an appeal to BALCA.
Source: 20 CFR 656.24(g)
Request For Review REQUEST FOR REVIEW Under appeal 7 now, as of September 16, 2026 The employer has asked the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals to review a denial.
BALCA reviews on the record: the evidence is what was already in front of the Certifying Officer, and the submissions are legal argument.
The clock: The request had to be sent within 30 days of the determination.
Who acts: BALCA decides. Nothing further is required from the employer.
Source: 20 CFR 656.26(a)
BALCA Appeals BALCA APPEALS Under appeal 376 now, as of September 16, 2026 The case is with the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals.
BALCA can affirm the denial, direct the Certifying Officer to grant the certification, or order a hearing.
Who acts: BALCA decides. All parties get 30 days to file a brief or decline to.
Source: 20 CFR 656.27
Denied - BALCA Dismissed DENIED - BALCA DISMISSED Under appeal 12 now, as of September 16, 2026 A denied case whose appeal to BALCA ended without the Board ruling on its merits.
DOL publishes no definition of this status, and the words dismiss and dismissal do not appear in the section governing BALCA decisions at all, which lists only affirming the denial, directing the officer to grant, or ordering a hearing. One case in the whole snapshot carries it.
No published definition. DOL's FLAG workflow uses the word and no section of 20 CFR 656 defines it.
Decided
DOL is finished with the application. What happens next, if anything, happens at USCIS.
Certified CERTIFIED Decided 97,191 now, as of September 16, 2026 DOL granted the labor certification.
That is the end of the PERM stage. It is not a green card and it is not a petition: it is the document an employer files an I-140 with.
The clock: 180 calendar days from the date DOL granted it, to file in support of a Form I-140.
Who acts: The employer has to file the I-140 while the certification is still valid. A certification that is not filed in time expires and the whole PERM stage has to be done again.
Source: 20 CFR 656.30(b)(1)
Certified - Expired CERTIFIED - EXPIRED Decided 202,971 now, as of September 16, 2026 DOL granted the certification and the 180-day window to file an I-140 with it has passed.
The regulation is explicit: a certification expires if it is not filed in support of an I-140 petition within 180 calendar days of the date DOL granted it.
Who acts: This is our reading rather than DOL's, because DOL publishes no note on it: expiry is a calendar event, not a finding that nothing was filed. DOL grants the certification, USCIS receives the I-140, and nothing suggests DOL is told when one arrives. So a case where the employer filed on day 30 and a case where nobody ever filed both end up here. If an I-140 went in inside the window it is unaffected. The employer's attorney knows which of the two happened; this page cannot.
Source: 20 CFR 656.30(b)(1)
Denied DENIED Decided 7,501 now, as of September 16, 2026 The Certifying Officer refused the application.
The denial letter states the grounds, and there are two routes on from it: reconsideration by the same officer, or review by BALCA.
The clock: 30 days from the date the denial was issued, for either route.
Who acts: The employer can request reconsideration or ask BALCA to review. Missing both windows counts as a failure to exhaust administrative remedies and the denial becomes final. A fresh application is also an option and is often the faster one.
Source: 20 CFR 656.24(g), 656.26(a)
Withdrawn WITHDRAWN Decided 18,945 now, as of September 16, 2026 The employer withdrew the application.
DOL records no reason, so nothing here can say why. A withdrawal is not a denial and it does not count against anybody.
No published definition. DOL's FLAG workflow uses the word and no section of 20 CFR 656 defines it.
Prevailing wage requests (ETA-9141)
The wage request comes before the PERM and has its own review chain under 20 CFR 656.41. Counts are from DOL's live index as of null.
In process IN PROCESS 49,045 now
The request has been received and no determination has been issued.
IN PROCESS 49,045 nowThis is the ordinary wage queue, worked in filing order.
No published definition. A workflow word with no regulatory definition. DOL publishes which filing month the center is working, and that is the only official measure of the wait.
RFI issued RFI ISSUED 428 now
The center has asked the employer for information before it will issue a determination, usually about the job's duties, requirements or worksite.
RFI ISSUED 428 nowNo published definition. DOL publishes no definition and no response period for a wage-request RFI; the letter states its own. A request the employer never answers is returned unprocessed.
Determination issued DETERMINATION ISSUED 92,125 now
The center issued the prevailing wage.
DETERMINATION ISSUED 92,125 nowIt is valid for 90 days or until the next June 30, whichever the rule gives, and recruitment or the ETA-9089 has to start inside that window.
Source: 20 CFR 656.40(c)
Pending redetermination PENDING REDETERMINATION 126 now
The employer asked the center to look at its own determination again.
PENDING REDETERMINATION 126 nowThe request has to be made within 30 days of the determination date.
Source: 20 CFR 656.41
Redetermination affirmed REDETERMINATION AFFIRMED 102 now
The center looked again and kept its wage.
REDETERMINATION AFFIRMED 102 nowThe employer's next step, if any, is a request for Center Director review.
Source: 20 CFR 656.41
Redetermination modified REDETERMINATION MODIFIED 99 now
The center looked again and changed the wage.
REDETERMINATION MODIFIED 99 nowThe modified determination is the one that now governs the case.
Source: 20 CFR 656.41
Pending Center Director review PENDING CENTER DIRECTOR REVIEW 1 now
The employer took a redetermination it still disputes up to the Center Director, the step above the analyst and below BALCA.
PENDING CENTER DIRECTOR REVIEW 1 nowSource: 20 CFR 656.41
Center Director review affirmed CENTER DIRECTOR REVIEW AFFIRMED DETERMINATION 1 now
The Center Director upheld the wage.
CENTER DIRECTOR REVIEW AFFIRMED DETERMINATION 1 nowThe remaining route is review by BALCA.
Source: 20 CFR 656.41
Center Director review modified CENTER DIRECTOR REVIEW MODIFIED DETERMINATION 0 now
The Center Director changed the wage.
CENTER DIRECTOR REVIEW MODIFIED DETERMINATION 0 nowThe modified determination governs.
Source: 20 CFR 656.41
Returned unprocessed RETURNED UNPROCESSED 311 now
The center sent the request back without deciding it.
RETURNED UNPROCESSED 311 nowDOL neither granted nor denied a wage and the employer did not withdraw, so this is none of those three.
No published definition. DOL publishes no definition. The commonest reading is an unanswered RFI or a request that could not be processed as filed; the record does not say which.
Withdrawn WITHDRAWN 4,417 now
The employer withdrew the request before a determination.
WITHDRAWN 4,417 nowDOL records no reason.
No published definition. A workflow word; the regulation describes withdrawal of a PERM application, not of a wage request.
H-1B labor condition applications (ETA-9035)
An LCA is certified or returned within seven working days, so the live index holds almost nothing pending. Counts are from DOL's live index as of null.
In process IN PROCESS 5,098 now
Filed and not yet certified.
IN PROCESS 5,098 nowThe regulation gives DOL seven working days to certify or return an LCA, so this status rarely lasts a week.
Source: 20 CFR 655.740(a)
Certified CERTIFIED 413,939 now
DOL certified the application.
CERTIFIED 413,939 nowCertification is a review of completeness and obvious inaccuracy, not of the wage or the job; the employer's attestations are what the certification rests on.
Source: 20 CFR 655.740
Certified, then withdrawn CERTIFIED - WITHDRAWN 0 now
The employer withdrew an LCA after DOL certified it.
CERTIFIED - WITHDRAWN 0 nowObligations that attached while it was in force, including the wage, survive for the period it was used.
Source: 20 CFR 655.750(b)
Withdrawn WITHDRAWN 16,983 now
The employer withdrew the application before certification.
WITHDRAWN 16,983 nowSource: 20 CFR 655.750(b)
Denied DENIED 2,513 now
DOL did not certify the application.
DENIED 2,513 nowOn an LCA that almost always means an incomplete or obviously inaccurate form, which the employer can correct and refile.
Source: 20 CFR 655.740(a)
Where these words come from
DOL's FLAG case-status search returns one status string per case and never explains it. The regulation, 20 CFR part 656 for PERM and wage requests and part 655 for LCAs, defines the steps that carry a deadline: the audit response, reconsideration, BALCA review, the 180-day life of a certification. The rest are workflow words, and the honest entry for one of those is what the workflow shows rather than a definition DOL never wrote.
To see the status on a specific case, look the number up; the answer links back to the entry here. To see every case at one review stage, the RFI and audit page lists them.