You have an offer letter from a new employer of record. The rate looks good, the client is solid, and the recruiter says they file H-1B transfers all the time. That last part is the one claim you should not take on faith.
Every H-1B petition and every Labor Condition Application (LCA) an employer files becomes part of a public record. Before you resign your current role or restart your visa clock with a new sponsor, you can look up that record yourself, tonight, for free.
This matters most if you are doing an H-1B transfer, but the same logic applies to PERM/I-140 sponsors, H-4 EAD dependent employers, and any consulting company that will file paperwork with USCIS or the Department of Labor on your behalf.
Why an Employer's Filing History Is Worth Checking
A staffing company can tell you anything in an interview. Public filing data tells you what they actually did. Two things you want to rule out before signing:
- A pattern of H-1B denials or Requests for Evidence tied to end-client placement (common in the staffing industry when specialty-occupation or employer-employee relationship evidence is weak).
- LCA wage levels that sit well below what the role and location warrant, which can signal a company that files low to save money rather than to match the actual work.
Neither of these guarantees your case will go the same way. But a sponsor with a thin or troubled filing history is a different risk profile than one with a long, clean one.
The Public Data Sources You Should Check
| Source | What it shows | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub | Petition counts, approvals, and denials by employer and fiscal year, sourced directly from USCIS adjudications | Confirming the employer actually files H-1Bs, and at what approval rate |
| DOL FLAG disclosure data (LCA files) | Every certified LCA: job title, wage offered, wage level, worksite, and filing date | Checking whether the wage and worksite match what you were told, and how many LCAs the employer files |
| myVisaJobs | Aggregated, searchable view of USCIS and DOL data by employer | Quick lookups when you do not want to parse raw government files |
Start with the government sources directly. The USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub is at uscis.gov under Tools, Reports and Studies. DOL disclosure data is published through the FLAG system at flag.dol.gov, under the Performance Data section for LCA and PERM disclosures. Both are stable, official, and updated on a regular schedule, quarterly for LCA data and periodically for the USCIS hub.
Patterns That Actually Matter
Raw numbers without context are noise. Here is how to read them.
- Denial rate. The USCIS hub lets you see approvals versus denials for a given employer and year. A company with a consistently high denial rate relative to its filing volume may have weak specialty-occupation documentation, thin end-client contracts, or an employer-employee relationship that USCIS keeps questioning. One or two denials in a large filing history is normal. A denial rate that is a large share of total filings is a flag worth asking about directly.
- Wage level on the LCA. Every LCA lists a wage level, I through IV, tied to the prevailing wage for that occupation and metro area. Level I generally reflects entry-level work; Level III and IV reflect more senior, independent work. If you are being hired for a senior role but the LCA is filed at Level I, ask why. It could be a documentation shortcut, or it could mean the employer is trying to minimize the required wage.
- Volume-to-approval ratio. A company filing hundreds of LCAs but only a handful of H-1B petitions per year, or vice versa, tells you something about how they operate. High LCA volume with low petition follow-through can mean they file broadly across many potential worksites without a specific placement lined up, sometimes referred to informally as speculative filing.
A 15-Minute Checklist Before You Sign
- Search the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub for the exact legal name on your offer letter, not a DBA or marketing name.
- Note the approval and denial counts for the most recent two to three fiscal years.
- Search DOL FLAG disclosure data for LCAs filed by the same employer. Confirm the job title, wage, and worksite line up with what you were verbally told.
- Cross-check the same employer on myVisaJobs for a faster visual summary if the raw files are hard to parse.
- If anything looks inconsistent, ask the employer directly for an explanation before you accept, and get their answer in writing where possible.
What the Data Cannot Tell You
Public filing data shows history, not intent, and it will not tell you why a specific case was denied or whether a low wage level was a clerical shortcut versus a real problem. It also will not substitute for reviewing your actual petition, LCA, and any end-client vendor agreement with a licensed immigration attorney before you sign anything. Every case turns on its own facts, and this article is general information, not legal advice.
Legally, the employer sponsoring your H-1B is required to pay the associated petition costs and to pay you the required wage during employer-caused periods of non-productive time, known as benching. Checking filing history helps you gauge whether a company is likely to operate that way consistently, but it does not replace confirming those specific commitments in your own contract.
Talk to Someone Who Reviews This Every Week
If the data raises questions you cannot answer alone, the Josh Pros LLC team looks at sponsor filing patterns regularly as part of how we support consultants through transfers, extensions, and green card cases. Reach out at contact@joshpros.com or visit https://joshpros.com if you want a second set of eyes before you sign.
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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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