H-1B LCA Red Flags: 8 Checks Before You Sign
Eight signals a candidate can read straight off the public LCA before signing an offer
Before any company can hire you on an H-1B, it has to file a Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor. The LCA is a short form where the employer states the job title, the work address, the salary, and a promise to pay you at least the government rate for that role in that area.
Every LCA a company has ever filed is public, and so is the salary on it. That makes the LCA the one document you can check before you apply, before you interview, and before you sign.
1. The employer has never filed an LCA for anyone
The Department of Labor publishes every LCA it has certified by company name, and USCIS publishes approved and denied H-1B petitions by employer in its Employer Data Hub.
A company with nothing in either file has never sponsored anyone. That is not automatically disqualifying, because every sponsor files a first one at some point, but it means the recruiter telling you "we sponsor" is describing an intention rather than a process the company has run before.
2. The employer is on the Department of Labor's debarred list
The Department of Labor publishes a list of companies banned from filing new LCAs after breaking H-1B rules. The ban covers H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3, so it blocks all three at once.
Bans run for a minimum of one year, and longer where the violation was deliberate or cost a U.S. worker their job. During the ban, the company cannot file a new LCA, a new petition, or an amendment to an existing one.
This is the only check on this list that gives you a straight yes or no. Search the Department of Labor's H-1B enforcement listings for the exact legal entity.
3. The wage level does not match the seniority of the job
Every LCA is filed at one of four wage levels, numbered 1 to 4, and the level sets the minimum salary the employer is allowed to pay you. Level 1 is the lowest. A company that files a senior role at Level 1 is paying an entry-level rate for experienced work.
Look at what the job asks for on paper. If the posting wants five or more years of experience, an advanced degree, or people reporting to you, and the LCA is filed at Level 1, those two things do not agree.
The mismatch is a problem for the company as well as for you. USCIS sends back questions when the level does not fit the job description, and the Department of Labor treats it as underpayment.
Check the geography too. The government rate is set per metro area, so an LCA filed for a low-cost metro while you work in an expensive one produces a legal salary that is well under the local market.
4. The job title and occupation code don't match what you interviewed for
Every LCA carries an occupation code that puts your job in a government category, and that code decides which salary table applies. A lower category carries a lower salary floor.
The gap shows up when the interview described one job and the LCA files another. Someone hired as a data scientist and filed as a computer systems analyst has been placed in a cheaper category than the work calls for.
Compare the title on the LCA to the title on your offer letter, then look up the occupation code on O*NET and read the duties it lists. If they do not describe your job, the code is wrong.
5. The employer asks you to pay any part of the H-1B filing costs
If a recruiter suggests you cover the filing fees, the legal fees, or "help out" with the cost of sponsorship, the request itself breaks the rules.
Two of the fees on an H-1B petition, the worker training fee and the fraud prevention fee, are the employer's by law and cannot be passed to you in any form. The base filing fee and the lawyer's fees are business expenses, and shifting them to you is treated as an illegal deduction whenever it drops your pay below the salary on the LCA.
Indirect payment counts the same as a direct one. A lower salary "to account for sponsorship costs," a deduction from your paycheck, or a promise to repay the company later all fall under the same rule.
6. One LCA covers dozens of workers under a generic job title
Every LCA states how many workers it covers. A company hiring you for a specific job files for one. A filing that covers twenty, fifty, or a hundred workers under a title like software developer is a staffing firm stocking up, not an employer hiring you for a role it has defined.
That distinction decides what your job looks like. Bulk filings usually list the staffing firm's own office as the work address, and you get placed at client companies from there. Between placements you can end up with no project, which is where unpaid gaps and pressure to accept any posting come from.
Your salary is tied to the generic title too. A broad job code filed at a low wage level sets your floor at the bottom of a wide range, even when the client work you end up doing is well above it.
Staffing is a legitimate way into the U.S. job market and plenty of people build careers through it. The flag is signing without knowing which client, which city, or what happens when a placement ends.
7. The employer won't show you the certified LCA
Your employer has to give you a signed copy of the certified LCA, meaning the version the Department of Labor approved, no later than your first day. Separately, it has to keep a public file with the LCA and the salary calculations in it, and make that file available to anyone who asks within one working day.
That means you can ask for both, and you do not need a reason. The Department of Labor's H-1B fact sheets set out what the file has to contain, including how the employer worked out the salary it filed at.
An employer who has filed correctly hands this over without friction. Stalling, refusing, or telling you the paperwork is confidential is the signal, because none of it is confidential and all of it is already public.
8. The work address is a home, a mail drop, or an empty coworking space
The address on the LCA has to be a real place of business where the work happens. A residential address, a mailbox service, or a coworking listing nobody uses does not meet that standard.
USCIS treats an address that does not hold up as a reason to question the whole petition, and the Department of Labor investigates it as a misrepresentation. Either outcome lands on your status, not the company's.
Working from home is fine, but only when the LCA lists your home as the work address. The address on the form has to match where you will really be. If you move outside the metro area listed on it, your employer generally has to file a new LCA for the new location.
Finding employers with a sponsorship history
Every flag above costs you the same thing if you miss it, which is a petition that fails or a salary set years below what the role is worth. Starting from employers that have already filed takes the first check off the list before you apply.
Migrate Mate builds its listings from government disclosure data, so every employer on the board has a verified history of sponsoring work visas before.
Search thousands of verified H-1B visa jobs
Find your next roleFrequently asked questions
What is an LCA in H-1B?
The Labor Condition Application is the form your employer files with the Department of Labor before it can petition USCIS for your H-1B. On it, the employer states your job title, work address, and salary, and promises to pay you at least the government rate for that role in that area. It has to be certified before the H-1B petition can be filed, and you are entitled to a signed copy by your first day.
How long does it take to get an LCA approved?
Usually seven business days, and there is no way to pay to speed it up. The review checks the form for completeness rather than judging the job, so a recruiter promising certification in two or three days is describing something that does not exist.
How do I look up a company's LCAs without a case number?
You do not need one. The Department of Labor's public disclosure files are searchable by employer name and show the job title, occupation code, work address, salary, and number of workers on every certified LCA. They will not show the status of a pending case, which only your employer or its lawyer can look up.
How do I check the wage level on my H-1B?
It is on the certified LCA your employer has to give you, and in the public disclosure files if you cannot get the copy. To confirm it, compare the salary against the government wage data for the same occupation and metro area and see which of the four levels it lands on.
How much does it cost a company to sponsor an H-1B?
Several thousand dollars per petition, and the employer carries nearly all of it by law, including the filing fee, the training fee, the fraud prevention fee, and the lawyer. The only costs that can land on you are premium processing when the speed benefits you rather than the company, and the visa fee if you apply at a consulate abroad.
About the Author
Founder & CEO @ Migrate Mate
I moved from Australia to the United States in 2023. I have had 3 jobs, and 3 different visas. I started Migrate Mate to help people like me find their dream job in the USA & help them get visa sponsorship.
