An LCA lookup starts in one of two free government databases: the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification disclosure files for the underlying Labor Condition Application, and the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub for the petition that followed. The DOL files carry the detail most people are after (wages, worksites, job titles, case status), while the USCIS Hub shows whether the employer’s petitions were actually approved.1U.S. Department of Labor. Performance Data2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Employer Data Hub Every certified LCA is a public record because employers must file Form ETA-9035 with the DOL before petitioning USCIS for an H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 visa, attesting to the wages and conditions they will provide.3U.S. Department of Labor. H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Specialty (Professional) Workers
DOL Disclosure Files vs. the USCIS Data Hub
The two systems track different stages of the same hiring pipeline, and choosing the wrong one wastes time.
The DOL disclosure files cover LCA certifications, which happen first. Each record shows the employer name, case number, job title, SOC code, offered wage, prevailing wage, worksite addresses, case status, and decision dates. If you want to know what a specific company told the government it would pay an H-1B worker in a specific city, this is where the answer lives.
The USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub covers what happens after certification: the actual H-1B petitions employers file with USCIS. It runs from fiscal year 2009 through the most recent quarter and can be searched by fiscal year, employer name, city, state, zip code, and NAICS code. Unlike the DOL data, it shows petition approval and denial rates by employer.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Employer Data Hub Files One limitation: the Hub only identifies employers by the last four digits of their tax identification number, not the full FEIN.
Use the DOL files for LCA-level detail. Use the Hub to confirm whether petitions actually got approved.
How to Search the DOL Disclosure Data
Go to the DOL Performance Data page and scroll to the LCA Programs section. Download the disclosure spreadsheet for the fiscal year you want. The Office of Foreign Labor Certification posts these as Excel workbooks organized by federal fiscal year, which runs October 1 through September 30.1U.S. Department of Labor. Performance Data A case decided in November 2025 falls under FY2026, not FY2025. Separate files cover main disclosure data, worksite-specific records, and an appendix with additional details, and the DOL publishes a record layout document that defines every column.
Open the file in Excel or Google Sheets and filter by whichever field you have. If you already have a case number in the format H-300-XXXXX-XXXXXX, filtering on that column pulls the exact record. If you have only the employer name, use a partial-name filter rather than an exact match. Company names show up with small variations across filings, so “Inc.” with the period and “Inc” without it can return different results.
The worksite address lives in a separate file from the main disclosure record. If you need the physical location where the employee will actually work, download both files and match them on the case number.
The Foreign Labor Application Gateway at flag.dol.gov is the portal employers use to file LCAs electronically, and it offers case-status lookup tools.5Foreign Labor Application Gateway. Foreign Labor Application Gateway For searching across employers or fiscal years, though, the downloadable spreadsheets remain the practical tool.
What Each Record Shows You
An LCA record captures a detailed snapshot of the proposed job. On the employer side, every filing includes the legal business name, mailing address, FEIN, and NAICS industry code. On the job side, the record shows the position title, the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code, and whether the role is full-time or part-time.6U.S. Department of Labor. Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers Form ETA-9035
Wage data is usually the point of the lookup. Every LCA lists both the wage the employer intends to pay and the prevailing wage for that occupation in the work area. The prevailing wage represents the average paid to similarly employed workers in the same occupation and geographic area, and federal rules require the employer to pay whichever figure is higher.7U.S. Department of Labor. Prevailing Wage Information and Resources8eCFR. 20 CFR 655.731 – What Is the First LCA Requirement, Regarding Wages
The SOC code drives the prevailing wage number, because DOL wage surveys are organized by that classification. A mismatch between the actual duties and the chosen SOC code, or a senior role coded at Level I (entry level), can pull the prevailing wage figure down below what the job would command in a fair comparison. That pattern is worth checking for when a wage on an LCA looks unusually low for the metro area.
Each record also identifies every worksite address, the estimated number of workers at each location, whether the worker will be placed with a secondary employer, and the begin and end dates of the employment period. For H-1B and initial H-1B1 filings, that period can span up to three years; for E-3 visas, up to two.9eCFR. 20 CFR 655.750 – What Is the Validity Period of the Labor Condition Application
Reading the Status Column
Every record carries a case status that tells you where the LCA stands.
- Certified means the DOL reviewed the application and accepted the employer’s attestations. Certification is the prerequisite for filing an H-1B petition with USCIS.
- Denied means the application failed to meet requirements, contained errors, or omitted required information. A denied LCA cannot support a visa petition.
- Withdrawn means the employer canceled the application before a final decision, often because the hiring need changed.
- Expired means the authorized employment period on the LCA has passed. Historical records stay in the disclosure files, but an expired LCA can no longer support a new petition.
A certified status is a paperwork finding, not proof of anything else. It does not mean the employer is actually complying with the wage and working-condition promises on the form, and it does not mean USCIS approved the related visa petition. Certification and petition approval are separate decisions made by different agencies.
What the Spreadsheet Doesn’t Show
The disclosure data reflects what the employer attested to. The supporting documentation lives in the employer’s Public Access File, which anyone can request to inspect.
Every employer with an active LCA must create this file within one working day of filing. It has to include a signed copy of the certified LCA, documentation of the wage being paid, an explanation of how the employer set the actual wage, documentation of the prevailing wage source, proof employees were notified of the filing, and a summary of benefits offered to workers in the same job category.10eCFR. 20 CFR 655.760 – What Records Are to Be Made Available to the Public The file must be kept at the employer’s main U.S. office or at the worksite, and retained for one year after the last H-1B worker under that LCA leaves.
Payroll records and the H-1B petition itself are not part of the public file. If a wage on the LCA looks off, though, the Public Access File is where the employer’s explanation of how it arrived at that figure should be.
If You Spot a Problem
An LCA lookup sometimes turns up something that looks wrong: a wage below the prevailing rate, a worksite that doesn’t match where the worker actually sits, or a job classification that doesn’t fit the duties. The Wage and Hour Division handles enforcement, and it opens investigations only in specific circumstances, most commonly after a complaint from someone directly affected.11U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 62U – What Is the Wage and Hour Division’s Enforcement Authority Under the H-1B Program
Complaints go on Form WH-4, a downloadable PDF that has to be sent to the Wage and Hour Division office covering the employer’s physical location.12U.S. Department of Labor. Instructions for Form WH-4 – H-1B Nonimmigrant Information A DOL representative may follow up for details before deciding whether to open a formal investigation.