Your employer filed a Labor Condition Application before your H-1B petition ever reached USCIS. Most consultants never see it, or glance at it once and move on. That is a mistake, because the LCA is the document that locks in your worksite, your wage level, and your pay rate for the period your petition covers.
If you are between assignments, about to transfer, or just curious whether your paycheck lines up with what was promised to the Department of Labor, you can check this yourself tonight. You do not need a login or a law degree. You need the form, your pay stub, and about fifteen minutes.
This is general information, not legal advice. If something on your LCA looks wrong, confirm it with a licensed immigration attorney before you act on it.
What Form ETA-9035 Actually Is
Form ETA-9035 is the Labor Condition Application. Employers file it electronically through the Department of Labor's FLAG system (flag.dol.gov) before submitting an H-1B petition, extension, or amendment to USCIS. The LCA is a certification: the employer is telling DOL it will pay at least the required wage and will not undercut US workers at the worksite.
Certified LCAs typically process within about a week when there are no flags on the application, though timing can vary. Once certified, the employer attaches a copy to the H-1B petition. You are entitled to see your own LCA. Ask HR or your staffing coordinator for a copy if you were not given one at filing.
Field by Field: What to Check on Your LCA
You do not need to read every box. These are the fields that matter most to a working consultant.
- Employer information (Section C): Confirms the legal entity sponsoring you. For consultants, this should match the entity on your offer letter and W-2, not the end client.
- Worksite address (Section F or G, depending on form version): The actual physical location where you perform work. If you are on a client site, this should be the client address, not your employer's headquarters. A mismatch here matters more than almost anything else on the form.
- SOC code and occupation title (Section F): The Standard Occupational Classification code DOL uses to determine the prevailing wage. A software developer coded as a generic business analyst, or vice versa, can produce a wage level that does not reflect the actual job.
- Wage level (Section F, Prevailing Wage Information): One of four levels, I through IV, explained below.
- Rate of pay (Section F): The actual wage your employer commits to paying you, shown as a range or single figure, annual or hourly.
- Period of employment (Section F): The start and end dates the LCA covers. This should align with your petition's validity period.
Four Wage Levels, One Question: Does Yours Match the Job?
DOL's Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program assigns four wage levels for most occupations, each describing a different degree of experience, judgment, and supervision. The level drives the prevailing wage floor your employer must meet or exceed.
| Level | General Description | Typical Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | Entry-level, basic understanding of duties, works under close supervision | New grads, first H-1B role, limited independent decision-making |
| Level II | Qualified, moderate independent judgment | A few years of experience, works with some supervision |
| Level III | Experienced, exercises judgment on non-routine assignments | Senior individual contributors, specialized skill sets |
| Level IV | Fully competent, uses advanced skills, may supervise others | Architects, leads, roles requiring significant independent authority |
Here is the sanity check: does the level on your LCA match the actual seniority of the role you are performing for the client? A consultant leading architecture decisions on a complex modernization project, coded as Level I, is a mismatch worth asking about. The level is not supposed to track your personal years of experience exactly. It is supposed to track the requirements of the specific position as described on the LCA and petition.
Cross-Checking Against the Official Prevailing Wage Source
You can verify the prevailing wage DOL assigned to your SOC code, wage level, and worksite area without guessing. DOL publishes LCA disclosure data on its Office of Foreign Labor Certification performance data page, updated quarterly, and prevailing wage determinations can be looked up through the FLAG system and the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center.
This article will not state a specific wage figure for any occupation, because prevailing wages vary by metro area, SOC code, and wage level, and they change as DOL updates its wage data. Pull the actual number yourself using your worksite's metropolitan statistical area, your SOC code, and your wage level. Compare that figure to the rate of pay printed on your LCA.
If your rate of pay sits below the published prevailing wage for your level and area, that is a real discrepancy worth raising with your employer or attorney immediately, not something to let ride until renewal season.
A Five-Minute Checklist You Can Run Tonight
- Get a copy of your current LCA from HR if you do not already have one.
- Confirm the worksite address matches where you physically work today.
- Confirm the SOC code reasonably describes your actual duties.
- Note the wage level and look up the current prevailing wage for that SOC code, level, and worksite area on DOL's FLAG system or public disclosure data.
- Compare your actual pay stub rate against the rate of pay stated on the LCA.
- Check the period of employment against your petition validity dates.
- If anything does not line up, raise it with your employer's immigration team or your own attorney, not with the end client.
None of this requires confrontation. Employers deal with wage-level and worksite questions routinely, and a clear, specific question backed by the actual LCA fields usually gets a straight answer.
The Josh Pros LLC team works with consultants through transfers, extensions, and amendments every day, and we are glad to talk through what your LCA says before you escalate anything. Reach out at contact@joshpros.com or visit https://joshpros.com if you want a second set of eyes.
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This is general information, not legal advice. Immigration rules change and outcomes depend on your individual circumstances. Confirm anything that affects your case with a licensed immigration attorney.
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