If you are an employer and you tend to employ an H-1B nonimmigrant, than you must submit a Labor Condition Application (LCA) to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the Department of Labor (DOL)

When must an LCA be submitted?

• The LCA should be submitted no earlier than six months before the beginning date of the period of intended employment for the H-1B nonimmigrant

What is the LCA Form?

• If submitted via fax or U.S. mail
• Form ETA 9035
• If submitted electronically
• ETA 9035E

What should the LCA Form state?

• The occupational classification for which the LCA is being submitted
• The occupation
• The title from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) Three-Digit Occupational Groups code and by the employer’s own title for the job
• The number of H-1B nonimmigrants sought
• The gross wage rate to be paid to each H-1B nonimmigrant
• The rate can be expressed on an hourly, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or annual basis
• The starting and ending dates of the H-1B nonimmigrants’ employment
• The place of intended employment
• The prevailing wage for the occupation in the area of intended employment and the source relied upon by the employer to determine the wage
• If the wage is obtained from a SESA, the appropriate box must be checked and the wage must be stated
• If the source for the wage is obtained from a source other than SESA, then the source must be identified along with the wage
• The employer’s status as to whether or not the H-1B dependent and/or a willful violator
• If the employer is H-1B dependent and/or a willful violator, then the employer must state whether he/she will use the application only in support of petitions for exempt H-1B nonimmigrants

What if the employer is filing more than one H-1B nonimmigrant?

• The employer shall file a separate LCA for each occupation where the employer intends to employ one or more H-1B nonimmigrants

What if the employer is hiring the H-1B nonimmigrant part-time?

• The positions covered by the LCA may be either full-time or part-time

When the employer submits the LCA, he/she is attesting that:

• The employer is offering and will offer, during the period of authorized employment to the H-1B nonimmigrant, no less than the greater of the following wages:
• The actual wage paid to the employer’s other employees at the employment with similar experience and qualifications for the specific occupation in question; or
• The prevailing wage level for the occupational classification in the area of intended employment
• The employer will provide working conditions for such nonimmigrants that will not adversely affect the working conditions of workers similarly employed
• This includes employee benefits
• There is not a strike or lockout in the occupational classification at the place of employment
• The employer has provided and will provide notice of the filing of the LCA to the bargaining representative of the employer’s employees in the occupational classification in the area of intended employment of which the H-1B nonimmigrant is sought
• The employer has determined its status concerning H-1B-dependency and/or willful violator, and has indicated this status
• If the status if applicable to the employer, then he/she has indicated whether the LCA will be used only for exempt H-1B nonimmigrants