How to Check LCA Status Without a Case Number

If you need to check LCA status without a case number, the two workable routes are the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s disclosure data files and the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, both searchable by employer name and worksite. You can also inspect the employer’s Public Access File in person, since every H-1B sponsor is required to keep one available for public review. FLAG’s own Case Status Search will not help here: it requires a case number and has no employer-name field.¹

Search the OFLC Disclosure Data

The most reliable public source is the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s disclosure data, published on the Department of Labor’s performance data page. These are downloadable spreadsheets of LCA records, organized by federal fiscal year. As of early 2026, the most recent file covers Fiscal Year 2026, Quarter 1.²

The files open in Excel, and you can filter by employer name, worksite city and state, occupation, wage level, and status. That makes them the closest thing to a searchable LCA database open to the public. A few practical points before you start filtering:

Try the company’s full legal name first, then variations. A subsidiary often files under a name that differs from the brand you recognize.
LCAs are tied to the specific city and state where the work will be performed. Filtering by location narrows results fast for large filers.
Only cases with a final determination appear. Pending applications are not in the disclosure files.²
Worker names are stripped out. You cannot search by employee.

Quarterly files can exceed 100,000 rows. If Excel is inconvenient, Google Sheets will open and filter them for free.

Use the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub

USCIS runs a separate browser-based tool called the H-1B Employer Data Hub. You can query it by fiscal year, employer name, city, state, ZIP code, and NAICS industry code.³ What it shows is petition data, not the underlying LCA: how many H-1B petitions the employer filed, how many were approved, and how many were denied. It will not display the LCA case number or the DOL certification status.

The two tools do different jobs. The OFLC data gives you the labor side, with wage details and LCA determinations. The Data Hub gives you the immigration side, with approval and denial counts. If you are trying to confirm that a particular employer actively sponsors H-1B workers, checking both is the most complete picture you can get without a case number.

Request the Employer’s Public Access File

Federal regulations give any member of the public the right to inspect an H-1B employer’s LCA records in person. Within one working day of filing an LCA, the employer must assemble a Public Access File and make it available at its principal U.S. place of business or the worksite.⁴ You do not have to be the sponsored worker. Anyone can ask.

The file must contain:⁵

The filed Form ETA 9035 or 9035E, which shows the case number, job title, wage offer, and worksite
The rate of pay offered to the H-1B worker
A summary of the system used to set wages for the position
The prevailing wage rate and its source
Documentation that the employer notified workers or the bargaining representative of the filing
A summary of benefits offered to U.S. workers and H-1B workers

The employer cannot charge a fee or demand a reason for your request. Inspections happen during normal business hours. Regulations do not fix a rigid production deadline, only that access be provided within a reasonable time and without unreasonable delay. The employer is not required to hand you copies, but you may photograph, scan, or transcribe the documents while you inspect them.⁵ The LCA inside that file is where you will find the case number, which then unlocks the FLAG Case Status Search for future checks.

Reading the Status Once You Find It

The disclosure data reports each LCA under one of a handful of statuses:

Certified: the DOL approved the application after finding the wage and working-condition attestations complete and free of obvious errors.
Certified-Withdrawn: certified, then pulled by the employer, often because hiring plans changed or no petition was filed.
Certified-Expired: approved but past its validity period. For H-1B and initial H-1B1 cases, that period can run up to three years from the employment start date. For E-3 and H-1B1 extension cases, the maximum is two years.⁶
Denied: rejected, typically for incomplete information or obvious inaccuracies caught during the DOL’s review.
Withdrawn: pulled by the employer before the DOL reached a determination.

The DOL reviews LCAs within seven working days of submission, so a very recent filing may simply not have a determination yet.⁷ Recent filings also will not appear in the disclosure files until a final determination is entered.

LCA Certification Is Not Visa Approval

One boundary is worth stating plainly. An LCA is a Department of Labor document confirming that the employer will pay the required wage and maintain proper working conditions for H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 workers.⁸ Once certified, the employer still has to file a separate petition with USCIS for the visa itself. A “certified” LCA tells you the labor attestation was accepted. It does not tell you whether the visa petition was granted, which lives on USCIS Case Status Online under a different receipt number.

1
Foreign Labor Application Gateway. Case Status Search
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Performance Data
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Employer Data Hub
4
eCFR. 20 CFR 655.760 – What Records Are to Be Made Available to the Public
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 62F – What Records Must an H-1B Employer Make Available to the Public
6
eCFR. 20 CFR 655.750 – What Is the Validity Period of the Labor Condition Application
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Labor Condition Application (LCA) Specialty Occupations with the H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Programs
8
eCFR. 20 CFR 655.700 – What Statutory Provisions Govern the Employment of H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 Nonimmigrants