PERM Processing - EB3 ADVICE

[Jess0511]

My employer submitted the PERM application on 23/1/17. We obtained the A reference and status went to submitted. On 4/4/17 it went to "in processing". Is this where he should receive the sponsorship verification email/call? This is the first time they've sponsored anyone and we're going for an EB3 permanent visa.

One US citizen applied for the role originally as it's a specialist role and nobody seemed to qualify or fit the criteria until I applied, he advertised properly but seemed to have some trouble filling in the form for PERM EB3 application. He can prove no one fits the role, and the prevailing wage and that he'll offer X salary and medical, dental etc as part of my role. We've put down a start date for the job as 22/5/17, is this reasonable or will I still be waiting to file 1-140 or even PERM approval at this time?

Any advice or info on the next steps would be greatly appreciated.