Updated April 2026 · DOL OFLC LCA Disclosure
H-1B Visa Guides
In-depth, data-driven guides to H-1B visa sponsorship, employer evaluation, and the path to permanent residency — all built around the public DOL Foreign Labor Application Gateway disclosure record and USCIS H-1B program statistics. These guides describe what the public data shows; they are not legal or immigration advice.
How to Use These Guides
The guides are written for the three moments where H-1B data matters most. First, before accepting an offer — when you need to read a prospective employer's LCA history, certification rate, prevailing wage level mix, and consistency of filing volume to gauge sponsorship reliability. Second, during the H-1B process itself — when understanding the difference between the DOL LCA, the USCIS Form I-129 petition, and the lottery registration system helps set realistic timeline expectations. Third, when planning longer term — the multi-year pathway from H-1B to PERM, I-140, and I-485 (or consular adjustment) where per-country green card backlogs matter most.
A common confusion is treating an LCA certification as visa approval. The LCA is an attestation by the employer about wages and working conditions, certified by the DOL — it is not a visa. The H-1B petition is then filed with USCIS and adjudicated independently. Our complete H-1B guide walks through every step in order with realistic timelines.
For evaluating a specific employer's track record, see the how to evaluate an H-1B employer guide; the company pages on this site surface the same DOL data behind that framework.
Browse Guides
The Complete H-1B Visa Guide: Everything You Need to Know
From lottery registration to green card, every step of the H-1B process explained with timelines, costs, and practical advice for international workers.
Read guide →Job SearchHow to Evaluate an H-1B Employer Before You Accept the Offer
Use public LCA data to check any company's H-1B track record, approval rates, wage levels, sponsorship history, and red flags to watch for.
Read guide →Immigration PathH-1B to Green Card: The Complete Pathway and Timeline
The step-by-step process from H-1B status to permanent residency, PERM, I-140, I-485, per-country backlogs, and strategies for long wait times.
Read guide →Categories Covered
Current guide categories: Overview, Job Search, Immigration Path. Overview guides walk through the full H-1B program from lottery registration to certification. Job-search guides focus on reading sponsor data when evaluating offers. Immigration-path guides cover the longer arc into permanent residency — including PERM labor certification, I-140 immigrant petitions, per-country backlogs, and the differences between EB-2 and EB-3 categories.
How These Guides Are Researched
Every claim in a H1BVisaTracker guide is sourced from public, authoritative U.S. government data. Primary source is the DOL Foreign Labor Application Gateway H-1B LCA disclosure files. Petition-level statistics — including denial rates, lottery selection counts, and approval volumes — come from USCIS reports and the H-1B Employer Data Hub. Prevailing wage figures reference the OFLC Wage Library and the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which DOL uses to set wage levels. Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of H-1B information do these guides cover?
The guides explain how to read public DOL Labor Condition Application data — sponsorship history, certification rates, prevailing wage levels — and how the H-1B process flows: lottery registration, the LCA, the I-129 petition with USCIS, and the longer pathway to permanent residency through PERM, I-140, and I-485 adjustment of status.
Are these guides legal advice?
No. H1BVisaTracker is a public-data site. We document what the DOL and USCIS records show and how to interpret them, but we do not provide legal, immigration, or case-specific advice. For decisions about your individual situation, consult a licensed immigration attorney or an accredited representative through a recognized organization listed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Where does the data behind these guides come from?
Primary source: the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) public disclosure files, downloaded from the Foreign Labor Application Gateway at flag.dol.gov. Complementary statistics on H-1B petition filings and adjudications come from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at uscis.gov. All data is U.S. government public domain.
What does an LCA actually tell you about an employer?
An LCA shows the employer's name, the worksite address, the offered wage, the DOL prevailing wage level (I, II, III, or IV), the SOC occupation code, and the DOL decision (Certified, Denied, Withdrawn, or Certified-Withdrawn). It does not show whether the worker actually received the H-1B visa — that decision is made later by USCIS. It also does not show day-to-day employer treatment of workers; for that, references and reviews are still needed.
How current is the data behind these guides?
The DOL OFLC publishes new disclosure files quarterly (typically Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 of each fiscal year). The guides are reviewed each time a new release lands, and dollar figures and rates are updated to reflect the current dataset. Last refreshed April 2026.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — H-1B LCA Disclosure (flag.dol.gov); U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services H-1B program statistics (uscis.gov); DOL OFLC Wage Library; BLS OEWS (bls.gov/oes). All data public domain.
Last refreshed 2026-04-13 · 3 guides published.
Disclaimer: H1BVisaTracker reports what the public data shows. We do not provide legal, immigration, or case-specific advice; consult a licensed attorney or accredited representative.