Depending on the type of the program, the course for filing could vary among months and years. Currently, the process to obtain an employment based temporary labor certification (H-2A, H-2B) usually may take months through the state agency and the Department Of Labor regional office. On the other hand, H-1B processing usually only takes seven working days.

The process to obtain an employment based permanent labor certification may take up to several months after completing the necessary recruitment steps and filing the application with the National Processing Center. The PERM processing times are updated monthly.
PERM Processing Times (June 2nd, 2014)

The H1b visa program permits employers to provisionally employ foreign workers in the United States on a nonimmigrant basis in jobs such as special professions or as models of eminent merit and aptitude. A specialty profession requires the hypothetical and practical application of an entity with specific knowledge and a bachelors degree or the comparable in the specific specialty. H1b visa requirements depend on a sponsor (a company in the US), who needs to submit a Labor Condition Application. H1b visa status depends on DOL and the USCIS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) decisions. PERM foreign labor applicaton and certification is obtained via US Department of Labor.Wondering how to check status of PERM application? The company’s attorney states that the labor certification application was filed in January. It would take 45-60 days to approve. Now, 5 months past, we haven’t heard anything. I asked the lawyer, what the situation was. He said there was no way to check what’s happening under the new rules. You, your attorney and your Human Resources can log into the system, find the case number and check the status. My lawyer said he filed electronically. I will check with Human Resources. Just type the ETA Case Number and it yields the standing and the file date. In general, how long does it take for a case to be set to “in growth”? Possibly, the next day after answering the sponsorship survey, the case status transformed. Individuals typically can’t check PERM standing virtually.