PERM Report: June 2025
Monthly analysis of PERM labor certification cases
Total Cases
15,364
+2,769 vs prev
Certification Rate
93.7%
-0.6% vs prev
Avg Processing
485 days
-4 days vs prev
Audit Rate
N/A
Case Outcomes
Summary
June 2025 PERM labor certification data reflects a robust and highly active filing environment, with 15,364 total cases processed and an overall certification rate of 93.7%. This strong approval rate signals that employers and immigration attorneys are submitting well-prepared applications, with only 363 cases denied (2.4%) and 608 withdrawn (4.0%). However, the average processing time of 485 days — approximately 16 months — remains a significant burden for both employers and foreign workers, underscoring the importance of early filing and meticulous preparation in a system where delays compound the already lengthy green card backlog. Geographically, California dominates in volume with 2,654 cases but posts the second-lowest certification rate among top states at 92.1%, suggesting higher scrutiny or more complex labor market conditions in that region. By contrast, Georgia stands out with the highest certification rate at 97.8% across 1,601 cases, heavily driven by large-scale food manufacturing employers such as JCG Foods of Georgia, FPL Food, and South Georgia Pecan Company — all achieving perfect 100% certification rates. This Georgia pattern reveals a concentrated EB-3 pipeline in the agricultural and food processing sector that is highly optimized for PERM compliance. New York trails with the lowest certification rate (91.0%) among the top five states, reflecting the historically competitive and scrutinized labor markets in the New York metro area. Industry-wise, Professional Services leads in volume with 4,062 cases, though its 93.3% certification rate sits slightly below the national average. Manufacturing outperforms with a 96.9% certification rate across 3,069 cases, largely attributable to food processing companies filing high-volume, well-documented petitions. The Information sector, home to software and technology roles, achieves a strong 95.7% rate across 1,755 cases. Among top employers, Microsoft Corporation filed 785 cases with a 98.9% certification rate, reinforcing the tech sector's systematic and legally sophisticated approach to PERM filings. The wage disparity between technical and hospitality occupations is stark — Software Developers average $137,015 and Business Intelligence Analysts $142,956, while Restaurant Cooks average just $33,000 — highlighting that EB-3 serves a genuinely broad wage spectrum.
Key Insights
- • The 93.7% overall certification rate is a strong indicator of application quality across the board, but the 485-day average processing time means applicants should budget at least 16 months before PERM approval — before I-140 and consular or adjustment timelines even begin.
- • Georgia's outsized 97.8% certification rate is structurally driven by food manufacturing giants (JCG Foods, FPL Food, South Georgia Pecan) filing high-volume, standardized petitions — EB-3 applicants in this sector should note that Georgia-based employers represent a particularly high-success pipeline.
- • California and New York, despite their volume, post below-average certification rates (92.1% and 91.0% respectively), likely reflecting more competitive prevailing wage determinations, higher DOL scrutiny, and more complex urban labor market attestations in those jurisdictions.
- • Microsoft alone filed 785 PERM cases with a near-perfect 98.9% certification rate, demonstrating that large tech employers with dedicated immigration counsel achieve exceptional outcomes — EB-3 applicants should strongly prefer large, experienced employers over small or first-time PERM filers.
- • The Manufacturing sector's 96.9% certification rate — the highest among major industries — combined with the food processing employer concentration in Georgia suggests a structurally favorable EB-3 pathway for unskilled and semi-skilled workers in that sector.
- • The wage gap between tech occupations (Software Developers at $137,015, BI Analysts at $142,956) and food service roles (Cooks at $33,000) illustrates EB-3's dual-track reality: both highly skilled and low-wage workers file under the same visa category, with dramatically different prevailing wage obligations for employers.
- • With only 363 denials out of 15,364 cases (2.4% denial rate), PERM denials are relatively rare — most application failures occur through withdrawals (608 cases, 4.0%), which often signal employer-side issues such as job changes, budget cuts, or recruitment audit failures rather than legal deficiencies.
Top States
Top Industries
Top Occupations
Industry Analysis
Source: DOL PERM Disclosure Data
Report generated: May 20, 2026