On December 5, the US Labor Department published a final rule allowing for electronic filing of Labor Condition Applications (DOL-ETA Form 9035), also known as “LCAs”. The new rule, effective January 14, 2002, specifically authorizes US employers to file LCA forms electronically through the US Labor Department’s web site [http://www.lca.doleta.gov]. (Note that this web site is still under construction.)

Federal law requires an LCA to be filed with the US Labor Department before any H-1B or TN-2 petition can be submitted to the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. Employers file the LCA form so as to attest that any and all H-1B or TN-2 workers will be accorded the same wages, working conditions, and benefits accorded to similarly situated U.S. employees.

Currently, all LCA forms must be submitted to US Labor Department via fax transmission, a process that was often fraught with technical and administrative snafus. For the immediate future, this will continue to be the procedure for filing LCA forms with the Labor Department, until the Department updates its web site to include the newly mandated electronic filing functionality.

The Labor Department’s stated goal in providing this new feature is to improve timeliness and reliability for all LCA filings, which in turn will accelerate the processing times for H-1B and TN-2 petitions. Berry, Appleman & Leiden anticipates that – when eventually implemented – the new electronic filing procedures will be a welcome boon. We will post updates to this new program as news develops.

Daniel C. Horne, Attorney
Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP
San Francisco Office