The Department of Labor issues labor certifications for permanent and temporary employment under the following programs:
- Permanent Labor Certification
- H-1B Specialty (Professional) Workers
- H-2A Temporary Labor Certification (Seasonal Agricultural)
- H-2B Temporary Labor Certification (Non-agricultural)
- D-1 Crewmembers Certification
- CW-1 Nonimmigrant Visa Program
Foreign labor certification programs permit U.S. employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary or permanent basis to fill jobs essential to the U.S. economy. Certification may be obtained in cases where it can be demonstrated that there are insufficient qualified U.S. workers available and willing to perform the work at wages that meet or exceed the prevailing wage paid for that occupation in the area of intended employment.
Foreign labor certification programs are designed to assure that the admission of foreign workers into the United States on a permanent or temporary basis will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages, and working conditions of U.S. workers.
Employment based immigration is a complex process that may involve a number of government agencies within the Federal Department of Labor, the State Department of Labor, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) and the Department of State. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) regulates the admission of foreign workers into the United States. The INA designates the Attorney General and the Secretary of State as the principal administrators of its provisions.
About the Foreign Labor Certification Process
Program Regulations & FAQs
- 20 CFR 655
- 20 CFR 656
- FAQs
Compensation of Foreign Workers
Regulations require that the wages attested to on foreign labor certification applications must be the average wage paid to all other workers in the requested occupation in the area of intended employment. This average wage is referred to as the prevailing wage. See Prevailing Wages for more information.
The employer is not precluded from paying nonimmigrant(s) more than the prevailing wage.
Employer Compliance
The employer should be aware that in filing for a foreign labor certification, the employer is obligated to comply with all employment related laws and regulations. In the case of H-1B Specialty (Professional) Workers, H-2A Temporary Seasonal Agricultural workers and H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural workers, additional obligations also apply. The details on these obligations may be found in the sections detailing H-1B , H-2A , and H-2B . Failure to comply with the established laws and regulations may potentially result in penalties and possible legal action.
The Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor is responsible for investigating and determining an employer's misrepresentation in or failure to comply with the H-1B , H-2A , and H-2B program requirements and with employment laws, principally the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Non-DOL Employment Visas
For information regarding other employment based visas which do not require Department of Labor certification, see the U.S. Department of State's website at http://travel.state.gov or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's website at www.uscis.gov .
Factsheets and Filling Tips
Additional Resources
Factsheets and Filling Tips
Prevailing Wage Information
- H-2B Concepts for Surveyors and Filing Tips Webinar Presentation - April 3, 2018
- H-2B 2015 Final Wage Rule Webinar Presentation - May 2015
- H-2B 2015 Final Wage Rule Webinar Presentation - August 2015
- H-2B 2015 Final Wage Rule Webinar Recording - May 13, 2015
- H-2B 2015 Final Wage Rule Webinar Recording - May 15, 2015
- H-2B 2015 Final Wage Rule Webinar Recording - August 21, 2015
- NPWC Updates November, 2019
Additional Resources
- FLAG System Technical FAQs and Filing Tips
- H-2B 2020 Best Practices Video
- H-2B FY 2020 Best Practices Presentation
- CNPC Updates November, 2019
- Wage and Hour H-2B Information
- Report Terminations and Job Abandonment
- H-2B 2015 IFR OFLC Webinar
- H-2B 2015 IFR WHD Webinar
- H-2B 2015 IFR Webinar Recording
- H-2B Webinar October 2017
- H-2B Webinar September 2018
- Filling out the 9141-C
- Filling out the 9142-C
- How To Navigate My Account
- How To Navigate My Cases
- How To Navigate My Network
- How To Navigate Profiles
- 9142B Stakeholder Briefing
Factsheets and Filling Tips
Additional Resources
- CW-1 Best Practices-Webinar 3.10.20
- CNMI Department of Labor
- How to create a FLAG Account
- Logging into FLAG
- Navigating the FLAG dashboard
- Filling out the 9141-C
- Filling out the 9142-C
- Form Validation Checks
- FLAG-Support
- CW-1 Program Webinar March/April 2019
- CW-1 Program Webinar March/April 2019 Recording
- How To Navigate My Account
- How To Navigate My Cases
- How To Navigate My Network
- How To Navigate Profiles