As we are almost close to the beginning of H-1B Season for the Fiscal Year 2014, if your petitioner is filing an H-1B for you, you may need to make sure and check with your employer if you submitted all the documents necessary from your end. It is important to know if your Labor Condition Application filed is certified by the Department of Labor (DOL).

Filing your H-1B Petition

There are two to-do items your employer needs to follow for filing an H-1B petition for you:

• Filing an LCA (Labor Condition Application) with the DOL
• File form I-129, petition for non-immigrant worker with the USCIS

The above two items comprise of H-1B application. Once your LCA is certified and form I-129 is filled and signed, your employer may submit your H-1B petition to the USCIS, when subject to cap.

Form I-129, specifically is petition for the non-immigrant worker. You can download Form I-129 and other related documents here. An employer needs to file form I-129 with the USCIS, only after the LCA is approved by the DOL.

What is LCA (Labor Condition Application)?

According to DOL, “The Department of Labor works to ensure that the admission of foreign workers to work in the U.S. will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages and working conditions of U.S. workers”. The DOL requirements for certifying a filed LCA are:

• Wages: The Department of Labor checks to see the wage offered to the applicant satisfies the requirements. The wages offered to the temporary worker by the employer must match to the wages offered for the position of the same job type and also does match or exceed the prevailing wage.
• Working Conditions: The employer must provide working conditions to the non-immigrant worker in such a way it will not affect the working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed, such as benefits, vacation time, hours of work, etc.
• No Strike/Lockout: Ensure there is no strike, lockout or any disputes in regards to employment classification at the place of employment during the time of LCA filing, (ETA Form 9035/9035E).
• Notice: The U.S. employers in the company needs to be notified about the plan to hire non-immigrant worker, by providing notice of LCA to the teams with similar job type or by posting the notice with details of the candidate the company wish to hire at two or more random location in the employer’s location.

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LCA Document Submission to USCIS

Once LCA is certified by DOL, your employer may file your H-1B petition(I-129). While your employer is filing your form I-129 (H-1B petition) with the USCIS, your employer also need to submit a certified Department of Labor (DOL) LCA (Form ETA 9035)  at the time of filing your petition. A copy of the LCA is also accepted. It is important to know that approval of LCA from DOL, doesn’t assure visa issuance.

Typical LCA Processing Times

According to the Department of Labor, H-1B LCA process takes around seven business days. It may take more time depending on case, if the DOL requests your employer additional information or evidences to support the filing.

If your employer plans to file an  H-1B petition during the upcoming Fiscal Year 2014, your employer should have already filed an LCA on your behalf. If your employer still have not filed your LCA yet and you plan to file H-1B this year, It’s time to rush! Talk to your employer and file your LCA today! It is expected that the H-1B cap this year would fill within in the first 5 days, starting 1st April 2013, which is when the USCIS starts accepting H-1B petitions.