ETA-9035 Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA)
The wage and working-conditions attestation an employer must have certified before filing an H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 petition. The employer promises to pay the higher of the actual wage or the prevailing wage, not to harm the conditions of other workers, to post notice, and to keep a public access file.
- Fee
- $0 - no Department of Labor filing fee. The employer may not recover the LCA or petition costs from the worker where doing so would drop pay below the required wage.
- Fee waiver
- Not available
- Who files
- The petitioning U.S. employer.
- Where to file
- Electronically through the FLAG system. Paper filing on Form ETA-9035 needs advance permission from the OFLC Administrator and is limited to employers with a disability or no internet access.
- Processing time
- reviewed within 7 working days, per the Department of Labor
Usually filed with
Part of these processes
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- An LCA may not be filed more than six months before the employment start date. The certified LCA goes with the I-129; a defective public access file is the most common finding in a Wage and Hour investigation.
Official page. https://flag.dol.gov/programs/lca. Download the form there, never from a third-party site; check the edition date and fee before filing.