Labor Condition Application

Before you can file an H-1B petition for anyone, you need a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) in hand. It is the Department of Labor (DOL) precondition for the whole process, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will reject a petition that arrives without one.

The form itself takes minutes. The obligations run for years, and a willful violation that displaces a U.S. worker carries a maximum penalty of $67,367 plus three years of debarment. DOL has sharpened enforcement since launching Project Firewall in September 2025, which routes H-1B investigations through the Secretary of Labor personally.

This guide covers what the filing requires, how to complete it, what to keep afterward, and which obligations employers most often miss.

What is a Labor Condition Application?

A Labor Condition Application is the form your company files with the U.S. Department of Labor promising that hiring a foreign worker will not undercut wages or working conditions for U.S. workers doing the same job. You file it on Form ETA-9035E through the Foreign Labor Application Gateway, better known as FLAG.

It is not a test of the labor market. The distinction employers confuse most often is LCA vs PERM: the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) process requires proof that no qualified U.S. worker is available, while the LCA only requires you to attest to wage and working condition standards.

Visa programs that require an LCA

Not every work visa routes through the Department of Labor, so it helps to know which of your hires trigger a filing before you build a petition calendar. You need a certified LCA for three nonimmigrant categories, all of which cover specialty occupations:

• H-1B: Specialty occupations and fashion models of distinguished merit and ability. This is where the H-1B cap, the annual registration, and the bulk of LCA filings sit.
• H-1B1: Specialty occupations for nationals of Chile and Singapore.
• E-3: Specialty occupations for Australian nationals.

The four LCA attestations

Signing the LCA is not a paperwork formality for your company. The LCA requirements for H-1B employers come down to four binding statements you make by signing the form, and each one is enforceable against you for the full period of employment:

• Wages: You pay the higher of the LCA prevailing wage for the occupational classification in the area of intended employment, or the actual wage you pay your own employees with similar experience and qualifications for the same duties. You also cover non-productive time and offer benefits on the same basis as U.S. workers.
• Working conditions: Employing the worker will not adversely affect working conditions for similarly employed U.S. workers.
• No labor dispute: There is no strike or lockout in the occupational classification at the place of employment. A work stoppage that begins later triggers a notice obligation to the Department of Labor.
• Notice: You have told your workforce about the filing. You satisfy the LCA posting notice requirements by posting at each worksite for 10 business days, by electronic notice if that is how you normally communicate, or by notifying the bargaining representative if your employees are unionized.

H-1B-dependent employers and designated willful violators take on two more attestations, covering non-displacement of U.S. workers and recruitment, unless every worker on the filing is exempt.

How to file an LCA: the step-by-step process

Sequence is what keeps you compliant. Each of these steps has to happen before the next one:

1. Get a prevailing wage figure. Use Office of Foreign Labor Certification wage data for the occupation and worksite, or request a formal prevailing wage determination from the National Prevailing Wage Center for safe-harbor protection.
2. Submit the Labor Condition Application Form ETA-9035. File electronically through the FLAG system, run by the Employment and Training Administration. You cannot file more than six months before the start date.
3. Post the notice. Complete your posting on or within 30 days before the filing date, and keep it up for 10 business days at every intended worksite.
4. Wait for certification. LCA processing time is up to seven working days, during which the Department checks for completeness and obvious errors. The most common LCA denied reasons are clerical: a mismatched Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), an invalid wage level, or a worksite address the system cannot validate.
5. Sign, file, and open the public access file. Print and sign the certified LCA, attach it to your petition, and assemble the file within one working day of the original submission.

The LCA validity period matches the period of employment you requested, up to three years, and covers every worker listed on it. One filing can support several people in the same role, worksite, and occupational classification.

LCA and the H-1B petition process

Once certified, your LCA becomes an exhibit rather than the main event. You attach the signed copy to Form I-129 when you file with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the wage and worksite data on it has to match what your petition says.

Timing matters for cap cases. Because you cannot file more than six months ahead, employers selected in the March registration typically start the LCA filing after selection notices go out, ahead of the April petition window.

Portability adds a wrinkle. When a worker moves to a new employer, that employer needs its own certified LCA before filing. The prior one does not transfer.

Public access file requirements

Your LCA public access file has to be available to anyone who asks, at your principal place of business or the worksite, within one working day of filing. Keep it separate from the petition and from payroll records, which stay private.

It contains the certified LCA, documentation of the wage rate paid, an explanation of how you set the actual wage, the prevailing wage source, proof of the posting or bargaining representative notice, and a summary of benefits offered to employees.

Retention runs one year beyond the last date any worker was employed under that LCA, or one year from expiration or withdrawal if nobody ever was. You keep payroll records for three years.

LCA and I-9 obligations

Your I-9 duties run on a separate track from the LCA, and confusing the two is a common audit finding. Before filing you confirm the role and worksite; after certification but before the start date, the posting and public access file need to be in place.

Then the I-9 clock starts. Your employee completes Section 1 of Form I-9 by their first day, and you complete Section 2 within three business days of hire, examining documents the employee chooses.

Throughout employment, track the work authorization expiration date independently of the petition deadline. When authorization lapses, reverify on Supplement B rather than starting a new form.

Penalties and enforcement exposure

Your exposure begins the moment someone files a complaint or DOL opens a file on you. An investigation usually starts with an employee complaint on Form WH-4, a random audit of a designated willful violator, or the Secretary of Labor certifying reasonable cause. Complaints are due within 12 months of the alleged violation.

Back wages come on top of these and are often the larger number. Willful violator status also exposes you to random investigations for up to five years and puts your company on a public DOL list.

Two agencies can reach the same worksite. Because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) runs I-9 inspections separately from DOL wage investigations, one location can draw wage findings and paperwork penalties at the same time.

When an amended or extended petition needs a new LCA

You need a new certified LCA whenever the existing one no longer describes the job. A move outside the area of intended employment requires one, and so does a material change in job duties that shifts the occupational classification or wage level.

The existing LCA carries over for moves within the same area of intended employment, as long as you post the notice at the new site, and for short-term placements of up to 30 workdays a year, extendable to 60 in limited circumstances.

Extensions almost always need a fresh filing, because the original expires with the petition period it supported.

Tools that keep LCA management from slipping

Your DOL FLAG system LCA dashboard is the system of record. It shows case status, stores certified copies, and lets you check filings without contacting the agency. What it does not do is remind you when a posting window closes or a validity period ends.

That gap is where employers add tracking of their own, tying LCA expiration dates to I-9 reverification dates and worksite assignments in a single view.

The takeaway

Your LCA is a short form that creates long obligations, and nearly every enforcement case starts with a mismatch between what the filing says and what payroll or worksite records show. Keep those in sync and the rest of the H-1B process gets simpler.

How Lighthouse handles LCA filings for your team

If your team is hiring on H-1B at any volume, the LCA is rarely the hard part on its own. Coordinating the wage determination, the posting window, and the petition deadline without one of them slipping is.

Lighthouse prepares LCAs alongside the H-1B petitions we support, with attorney review included in every case and a free initial eligibility evaluation before you commit. We work with HR and people ops teams to keep worksite data, wage levels, and posting records consistent across filings, which is exactly what a Department of Labor investigator compares first.

Start your H-1B evaluation today.

Frequently asked questions on the LCA

What is the meaning of Labor Condition Application?

It is your formal attestation to the Department of Labor that you will pay a required wage and maintain working conditions that do not disadvantage U.S. workers. Signing it makes those promises legally enforceable.

How long does a Labor Condition Application take?

DOL reviews your filing within seven working days. Build in time for the 10 business day posting period and any wage determination you request first.

What is the difference between LCA and H-1B?

The LCA is the DOL wage filing; the H-1B is the USCIS petition that grants status. You need a certified LCA before filing the petition, but the LCA by itself gives your employee no immigration status.

What are the requirements for LCA?

You make four attestations covering wages, working conditions, absence of a strike or work stoppage, and notice to your workforce. You also submit accurate worksite and occupational classification data and maintain a public access file.

Do I need to complete a new Form I-9 when an employee's H-1B is extended?

No. Reverify on Supplement B of your existing form before the recorded authorization expires. A new I-9 is only needed when a different employer hires them.

Can I use E-Verify to reverify an H-1B worker's employment authorization?

No. E-Verify is limited to new hires, so running a case on someone already on your payroll violates program rules. Reverification happens entirely on Supplement B.

What documents should an H-1B worker present for Section 2 of Form I-9?

Whichever your employee chooses from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. Many present a foreign passport with the Form I-94, a List A document. Requesting a specific one is document abuse.