A labor condition application is the form an employer files with the Department of Labor before it can ask USCIS for an H-1B. It's Form ETA-9035, and it's a short set of promises about pay and working conditions. The same form covers H-1B1 and E-3 workers.
It gets its own case number, which usually starts with I-200-. A smaller share start with I-203-. That number belongs to DOL. The H-1B petition that comes afterwards is a different filing with a different number at a different agency. Mixing the two up is the most common confusion around this form. To check the LCA itself, type its number into PERM Tracker's free case lookup. It asks DOL's own case-status service and covers pending cases.
What the employer is actually promising
There are four attestations, and they're all about the people already doing the work.
The employer promises to pay at least the higher of two wages: the prevailing wage for that occupation in that area, and the actual wage it already pays its own similarly employed workers. It promises the hire won't worsen the working conditions of those workers. It states there's no strike or lockout in that occupation at that worksite. And it confirms notice of the filing was given, either posted at the worksite or passed through the union.
The employer also has to keep a public access file with the supporting documents, and hand it over to anyone who asks for it within one working day of filing. That file is the practical route to the detail the form doesn't show.
The wage on the form, and the prevailing wage
Three wages get mentioned in the same breath and they aren't the same thing.
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| Prevailing wage | What the occupation pays in that geographic area, taken from a survey |
| Actual wage | What this employer already pays its own workers doing similar work |
| Wage offered | What the employer writes on the LCA, which must be at least the higher of the other two |
The wage offered can be a single figure or a range. If it's a range, the bottom of it has to clear the required wage. Clearing it with the top isn't enough.
The prevailing wage comes from a different place here than in PERM. For a PERM application the employer has to request a prevailing wage determination from DOL and wait for it. For an LCA it doesn't. The employer can use DOL's published wage survey data, another legitimate survey, or a determination it asked DOL for. Only the DOL determination gives it a safe harbor if the wage is later challenged. So an LCA can be filed and certified without DOL ever having set a wage for that job. The PERM job can also be a different job from the one on your LCA, because it's the job you'll hold once you're a permanent resident (the PERM job is a future job).
If you want to see the other route, prevailing wage requests are searchable at /pwd-cases, and there's a walkthrough of tracking one.
How long it takes
DOL's stated target is a decision within seven working days of filing, and most are certified inside it. That's why the pending set is small compared with PERM, where the wait runs to months. If an LCA has sat in process well past a week, something on the form usually needs attention rather than more patience.
The guide to how long LCA certification takes quotes the rule and covers what a delay or a denial means.
What certified means, and what it doesn't
Certified means DOL accepted the form. It checks for completeness and obvious errors. It doesn't check whether the promises on it are true. That part is enforced afterwards, through complaints and investigations by the Wage and Hour Division.
So a certified LCA isn't:
- The H-1B petition. The employer still files Form I-129 with USCIS. That filing gets a receipt number and is tracked at USCIS. Neither this site nor DOL tracks it.
- Permission to work. Nobody is authorized by an LCA alone.
- A guarantee the job happens. Certified LCAs go unused all the time. Employers file them ahead of the cap lottery, for roles they never fill, or for contingencies.
- A statement that the wage was paid. It's a promise made before the work starts.
An LCA is certified for the period of employment requested, up to three years, and it's tied to the occupation and the worksite area named on it. Moving the work to a new area generally means a new one.
Checking one by number
If you have the number, paste it into the case status lookup. The same box takes PERM numbers, prevailing wage requests and LCAs, and works out which is which from the prefix.
If the number isn't already held here, the site asks DOL's case system for it at that moment and records the answer. So a filing from the last few days still resolves.
While an LCA is still pending you can leave an email address on the result and hear when the status changes. You confirm it by a link first, then get one email per change, and you don't need an account.
If you don't have the number
Search by employer at /lca-cases, and narrow by job title or filing month. Case numbers on this site link straight through to the lookup.
What this can't tell you
- Anything about the H-1B petition. Filing, the cap lottery, approval and denial are all USCIS territory, under a different number.
- Whether the wage was ever paid. The form is a promise. The paycheck is a separate question, and the public access file plus the Wage and Hour Division are where it gets answered.
- Why a denial happened. DOL doesn't publish its reasoning on any of these programs.
- Whether a person was hired. An LCA names a job and a wage. It never names a worker.
- Older filings, yet. Live records here reach back through a backfill that's still running. A filing from 2023 may not be in the live half.
Related
- Case status lookup, which takes PERM, wage request and LCA numbers
- LCA search, to find a number by employer
- Prevailing wage requests, the separate DOL determination PERM requires and an LCA doesn't
