Temporary Acceptance of Uncertified LCA's Expires March 10
The USCIS confirms that March 10, 2010 was the last day that H-1B petitioners can submit an H-1B petition with a Labor Condition Application (LCA) that has not been certified.
H-1B petitions must be submitted with Labor Condition Applications certified by the Department of Labor. Starting last November, the USCIS created a temporary exception to this requirement, and began accepting H-1B petitions without the certified LCA as long as the petitioner could show that the LCA had been submitted more than seven days prior to filing. The delay with the Department of Labor's new LCA certification system (I-Cert) was creating a multitude of problems for U.S. employers and H-1B employees. With this exception, the USCIS later requested the certified LCA from the petitioning employer. By the time the USCIS requested the certified LCA, the employer should have had it by then and could submit it to the USCIS.
This temporary exception to submitting a certified LCA with an H-1B petition expired on March 10, 2010. Now, all H-1B petitions must be submitted with a certified LCA.
H-1B petitions must be submitted with Labor Condition Applications certified by the Department of Labor. Starting last November, the USCIS created a temporary exception to this requirement, and began accepting H-1B petitions without the certified LCA as long as the petitioner could show that the LCA had been submitted more than seven days prior to filing. The delay with the Department of Labor's new LCA certification system (I-Cert) was creating a multitude of problems for U.S. employers and H-1B employees. With this exception, the USCIS later requested the certified LCA from the petitioning employer. By the time the USCIS requested the certified LCA, the employer should have had it by then and could submit it to the USCIS.
This temporary exception to submitting a certified LCA with an H-1B petition expired on March 10, 2010. Now, all H-1B petitions must be submitted with a certified LCA.