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PERM sponsor, #2,500 of 70,985 by filings

Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc.

Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc. sponsors green cards: it filed 32 PERM cases in the last 12 months, the newest on June 11, 2026. Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc. has 32 PERM cases waiting with DOL.

Main job
Food Scientists and Technologists · 100% of its filings
Main worksite
Milbank, SD · 100% of its filings
Industry
Cheese Manufacturing · NAICS 311513

Waiting on a case with Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc.?

  • When it'll likely be decided
  • An email when DOL moves it

It's on your ETA-9089 receipt. It goes into the page's address, so you can bookmark the result.

Don't have the number? Find it among their filings.

Or follow this employer by email

Too few cases for a rate

18 decided filings: too few for an approval rate.

Why

Across every PERM case DOL decided in this window, 3.20% were denied. At that rate a file this size comes back clean most of the time whatever the sponsor did, so a percentage would be a fact about how few cases there are. Telling a clean record apart from the field takes about 117 decided cases.

Filings

18

#2,500 of 70,985

Certified

18

0 denied

Approval

Not shown

withheld: 18 decided

Median wage

$47,403

offered, per year

Median days

520

54 slower than the field

Right now

DOL's live record of its cases, read every day, and what it has done to them as a group.

In the queue right now 50 cases in the live tracker

Waiting on a decision

32

of 50 tracked cases. The other 18 have been decided.

The oldest one still waiting was filed May 15, 2026, 5 months ago.

Where those 32 are standing

ANALYST REVIEW
32100%

A Department of Labor analyst has the application. This is the main queue, and it is where most pending PERM cases sit.

None of this changes one case's wait: DOL works one national line. Where DOL is working now is the figure that does.

From DOL's live status of 50 of this sponsor's cases: read this share against 50, never against the lifetime filings above. Live case tracker, as of October 20, 2026

Follow Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc.

An email when DOL moves its cases as a group: five or more on or off hold in a day, or a batch decided well above its usual pace.

What DOL has done to its cases as a group

Nothing employer-wide since this site's record began on August 27, 2026.

You confirm by email first. One click turns it off.

Its newest filings

Filed since DOL's last quarterly file, so the wage and law firm aren't published yet.

The 8 newest. Every filing by this employer is in the case search, live and published together.

Source: DOL's own case-status service, flag.dol.gov, where any of these numbers can be looked up. A filing shows there soon after it's made, months before DOL's quarterly files.

How long it takes

How long their cases are taking

  1. Every employer

    median of 29,912 decisions in the same 90 days

    302 days

None of their cases were decided in the last 90 days, too few for a median of their own. Filing to decision, over decisions we watched DOL make; withdrawals left out.

Filed today: a new case joins the same line as anyone's, behind 80,461 cases, and would be decided around March 18, 2027 (between February 26, 2027 and April 27, 2027). Estimate another date

Every program

Across DOL's programs

The wage request, the PERM and the H-1B labor condition application, one line each.

PERM (green card)
18 published
32 pending
$47,403 median, n=18
Prevailing wage requests
5 published
1 pending
5 wages, under the floor
H-1B labor condition applications
7 published
0 pending
7 wages, under the floor

Every case across these programs is in the search.

How these are counted

Medians are of the published rows with a usable wage, annualised from whatever unit the filing quoted, and withheld under 10 wages. DOL publishes no employer number, so filings are matched by the employer's legal name; another employer with the same legal name would be counted here too. The PERM is the green-card step; the wage request comes months before it, and the LCA is the separate form for an H-1B. DOL publishes each in its own file, and its live record shows what is still open.

Its newest wage requests and LCAs

Filed by Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc., newest first. Decided ones carry the wage from DOL's quarterly files.

Wage requests

All wage requests by this employer

H-1B LCAs

All H-1B LCAs by this employer

Source: DOL's own case-status service, flag.dol.gov, where any of these numbers can be looked up. A filing shows there soon after it's made, months before DOL's quarterly files.

What its H-1B LCAs were for

From DOL's quarterly LCA files: 7 LCAs filed by Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Inc., 7 of them certified with the worker breakdown on Form ETA-9035.

New hires and transfers

4 positions for new employment, 1 moving here from another employer.

  • New employment 7a 4 · 57%
  • Change of employer 7e 1 · 14%
  • Continuing 7b 2 · 29%
  • Change in previous employment 7c 0 · 0%
  • Concurrent employment 7d 0 · 0%
  • Amended petition 7f 0 · 0%

Shares of the 7 worker positions requested. These are positions on certified LCAs, not people hired: DOL certifies an LCA before any petition, and many are never used.

What each box on the form means
  • New employment (7a). Starting with a new employer.
  • Change of employer (7e). Moving here from another employer, keeping the visa classification already held.
  • Continuing (7b). Staying with the same employer.
  • Change in previous employment (7c). Same employer, no material change to the job duties.
  • Concurrent employment (7d). Adding this employer while keeping another.
  • Amended petition (7f). Same employer, with a material change to the job duties.

Form ETA-9035, Section B, Item 7, in DOL's words from its LCA record layout. One LCA can tick several boxes.

Wage level it chose

  • Level I 7 · 100%
  • Level II 0 · 0%
  • Level III 0 · 0%
  • Level IV 0 · 0%

Shares of the 7 certified LCAs that named an OES level. The form asks for the level only when the employer set the wage from the OES survey itself; 0 of 7 used another source, such as a DOL wage determination or another survey. Level I is entry, Level IV fully competent.

What it declared on Section H

H-1B-dependent
No
Found a willful violator
No

As answered on its newest LCA, filed May 15, 2026. Declared H-1B-dependent on 0 of 7 LCAs, and a willful violator on 0 of 7. Both are the employer's own answers.

What the two answers mean

H-1B-dependent (20 CFR 655.736(a)): 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees in the US and more than 7 H-1B workers; 26 to 50 and more than 12; or 51 or more, with H-1B workers equal to at least 15% of them.

Willful violator (655.736(f)): DOL or the Justice Department found a willful failure or a misrepresentation of a material fact in the five years before the LCA was filed.

Either one adds two promises to the employer's LCAs: not to displace US workers, and to recruit US workers before hiring H-1B workers (655.738, 655.739). They don't apply to an LCA used only for exempt workers, paid at least $60,000 a year or holding a related master's degree (655.737). The rule on eCFR

Against other sponsors

Where it sits among 70,985 sponsors. The full ranking sorts every column.

Each figure ranked only among sponsors with enough cases for it to mean something. No single score: they measure different things.

  • PERM filings in the last 12 months

    32 filed in the last 12 months

    Higher than 97% of the 13,990 sponsors that filed in the last 12 months.

  • H-1B LCAs certified in the last 24 months

    5 certified in the last 24 months

    Higher than 57% of the 27,903 sponsors with a certified LCA in the last 24 months.

Position in the field 1,343 sponsors with 30+ decided

Approval rate

not shownunder 30 decided

0% 100%

Median days to decision

520 daysmiddle of 18 decided, too few to rank

5d 1152d
Each bar counts sponsors at that value. More
Each bar counts sponsors at that value. Sponsors with fewer than 30 decided cases are left out of the population rather than plotted, because a rate over a handful of cases lands wherever the handful landed. This sponsor has 18 decided cases, so its median days is marked but left unranked, and no approval rate is drawn at all.
DOL PERM disclosure files

Against the sponsors ranked nearest

The 120 sponsors ranked nearest filed between 18 and 19 filings.

Their median wait
468 days
This one
520 days

This one sits 52 days behind them.

Why no approval rate

A band is a slice of the volume ranking rather than a population picked for having enough decided cases, so a band rate would be solid at the top of the list and noise at the bottom, under one heading.

Where this sits in the ranking

Ranked 2,500 of 70,985 by volume: 2,499 filed at least as many filings, and 68,485 filed no more.

Just above
Stein5, LLC 18 filings
Just below
Vennison Technologies Inc 18 filings

Sponsors filing at the same rate

Ranked either side of this one: they file about as many PERM cases.

Sponsors hiring for the same work

The employers filing the most PERM cases for Food Scientists and Technologists, the occupation this sponsor files for most.

What they file, and where

A rank says how much. It says nothing about what the work is, which is the part a job offer from this sponsor turns on.

What the jobs are

Food Scientists and Technologists

SOC 19-1012.00 · 18 filings, 100% of everything they file

How this is counted

These are the occupation with the most filings, 18 of 18 cases between them. The occupation on a PERM is the SOC code on the form, which is the job as DOL classifies it rather than the job title on the offer. DOL still accepts two SOC vintages, so one job can appear twice under two codes; the code is printed for exactly that reason.

The industry they declared

Cheese Manufacturing

NAICS 311513 · 18 filings

How this is counted

The NAICS code the employer entered on the form, with the Census Bureau's title for it. DOL publishes the code alone, and an employer can file under more than one.

Where the jobs are

  • South Dakota 18
How this is counted

The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. This state covers 18 of 18 filings.

Where the work is

  • Milbank, SD 18
How this is counted

The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. This city covers 18 of 18 filings.

Who files for them

  1. Davis Immigration Lawyers PLLC 17 filings
  2. Davis and Goldfarb, PLLC 1 filings
How this is counted

The law firm named on the application. 18 of 18 filings, 100% of the total.

Newspapers it advertised in

  1. Argus Leader

    18 cases
How this is counted

The newspaper or professional journal named for each case's two print ads, one count per paper per case, however the filer spelled it.

Additional steps it used

  1. Campus placement offices

    18 cases

  2. Job search websites

    18 cases

  3. Local or ethnic newspapers

    18 cases
How this is counted

The steps a professional job needs beyond the job order and the ads, by the number of cases that name each.

How long before filing it began

  1. Under 30 days

    0.0%

  2. 30 to 59 days

    0.0%

  3. 60 to 89 days

    0.0%

  4. 90 to 119 days

    5.6%

  5. 120 to 149 days

    5.6%

  6. 150 to 180 days

    89%

  7. Over 180 days

    0.0%
How this is counted

Days from the first recruitment step to the filing. 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e) puts the job order and ads 30 to 180 days before filing.

Where every PERM employer recruits

History

Year by year since 2017

56 PERM decisions from FY2017 to FY2026, busiest in FY2021 with 22.

  • certified
  • denied
  • withdrawn

Fiscal years, October to September. A year filed under another name is missing, not zero. FY2026 is partial: DOL's newest file runs through June 2026.

Every year as a table
Fiscal year Certified Denied Withdrawn
FY2017 6 0 0
FY2018 0 0 0
FY2019 10 0 0
FY2020 0 0 0
FY2021 22 0 0
FY2022 0 0 0
FY2023 0 0 0
FY2024 0 0 0
FY2025 1 0 0
FY2026 17 0 0

Decided in FY2016 to FY2023

The 25 most recent of 38. Case numbers from these years start with A-; look one up for DOL's full record.

Case Decided Outcome Job Offered wage
A-20167-65603 2021-01-27 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20142-57357 2021-01-27 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20142-57226 2021-01-27 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20141-56905 2021-01-27 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20167-65614 2021-01-15 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20167-65598 2021-01-11 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20167-65558 2021-01-11 certified Whey Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20142-57360 2021-01-11 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
The other 17
A-20141-56903 2021-01-11 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20141-56897 2021-01-11 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20141-56909 2021-01-07 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20141-56882 2021-01-07 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50691 2021-01-07 certified Whey Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50569 2021-01-07 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50679 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50661 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50610 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50582 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50531 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50521 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20126-50502 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-20101-41837 2020-11-06 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,243
A-18268-21841 2018-12-10 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $50,271
A-18264-20942 2018-12-10 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $49,047
A-18264-20837 2018-12-10 certified Cheese Production Scientist, SD $43,752

Who they sponsored, FY2016 to FY2023

From DOL's old form; the form in use since mid-2023 doesn't carry them. Top six of each.

Country of citizenship

  • Mexico 38

Worker's education

  • Bachelor's 38

Visa held when filed

  • TN 28
  • H-1B 10

Schools

  • UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA CHAPINGO 10
  • INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO SUPERIOR DE TEPEACA 3
  • INSTITUTO POLITECNICO NACIONAL 2
  • LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA AGRARIA ANTONIO NARRO 2
  • LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA CHAPINGO 2
  • UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE CHAPINGO 2

Fields of study

  • AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 8
  • FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 8
  • AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 6
  • AGROINDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 5
  • FOOD SCIENCE ENGINEERING 2
  • FOOD TECHNOLOGY 2

Notes on these numbers

What these numbers don't say

5 notes
The wage is the job, not the payer
Their filings are led by Food Scientists and Technologists, 18 of 18. The median offered wage moves almost entirely with what roles they file. A software developer and a poultry cutter are different numbers wherever they are filed, so this figure is not plotted against the field and no percentile is given for it: that comparison would rank occupation mix and call it pay. Wages by occupation are on the wages page.
Volume doesn’t change the wait
DOL works a single national queue, oldest first, whoever filed the case, so these 18 filings bought no priority: a company with four thousand waits exactly as long as one with three.
The name is a legal entity
DOL prints whatever went on the form, and here that name ranks 2,500. A group that files through several subsidiaries appears as several rows, and one that files everything through a parent appears once, so a rank is a rank among printed names rather than among companies.
A median over 18 decided cases
The queue is national and first in, first out, so this figure follows when the cases were filed as much as it follows the sponsor.
Two sources, and they do not add up
The filing counts come from DOL's disclosure files, where every row already carries a decision date, so nothing pending is in them. The queue figures come from a live per-case tracker with its own coverage and its own as-of date. Subtracting one from the other gives a number that means nothing. The worksite on most of these is SD. Where the queue stands overall is on the processing times page.

The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built

Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly

Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load

Per-case statuses: flag.dol.gov/recaptcha/caseStatus (DOL, direct) · data through Oct 20, 2026 · daily

What each source includes

Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.

Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.

Per-case statuses: Every PERM case DOL indexes, pending included. No wage, law firm or worksite: DOL reveals those only when a case is published.

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