Office of the Provost
The Prevailing Wage and the Labor Condition Application
At the heart of the visa H-1B visa petition is the U.S. Department of Labor with its prevailing wage and the Labor Condition Application. Before it can submit an H-1B visa petition to the USCIS, the employer is required to attest to a number of conditions. Failure to follow these procedures, or to abide by the regulations of the Labor Condition Application, subjects the employer to serious consequences, which include:
- fines of $1000 to $5000 for each offense;
- payment of back wages,
- prohibition from hiring foreign workers for a year or more.
The employer is also required to maintain substantial documentation that it is in compliance with these regulations and to hold that documentation in a Public Access file which may be audited by the Department of Labor at any time.
"To knowingly and willingly furnish any false information in the preparation of a Labor Condition application, and to aid, abet, or counsel another to do so, is a federal offense, punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to five years."
Therefore, as the Office of the Provost takes responsibility for the preparation, signing, submission, and maintainence of the LCA, and to ensure that all hiring departments are aware of and prepared to comply with all of the federal regulations which govern the H-1B visa, the Chair of the Department or Dean is required to read and sign this document.
The employer must attest to the following on the LCA:
- it will pay the non-immigrant worker at least the local prevailing wage or the employer's actual wage, whichever is higher, and will pay the employee for any non-productive time;
- it will offer the non-immigrant worker benefits on the same basis as U.S. workers;
- it will provide working conditions for non-immigrants which will not adversely affect the working conditions of others similarly employed;
- there is no strike, work stoppage or lock out in the occupational classification at the place of employment;
- it will provide notice to other workers of its intent to hire a non-immigrant worker;
- it will provide a copy of the LCA to the non-immigrant worker prior to the beginning of his/her employment.
For additional information on the Labor Condition Application and requirements for employers using nonimmigrants on H-1B visas in specialty occupations, please contact the Office of the Provost or visit the Labor Department web site.