H-1B Visa Overview

An H-1B employer is any entity (person, firm, corporation, contractor, or other association or organization) which files (1) a Labor Condition Application (LCA) (Form ETA 9035 and/or ETA 9035E) with the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and (2) a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Forms I-129/I-129W) on behalf of an H-1B nonimmigrant with the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service). This definition applies in all situations, whether or not the H-1B employer is H-1B-dependent (see WH Fact Sheet #62C). 

The Employment of Non-Immigrants on H-1B Visas 

PowerPoint Presentation By U.S. Department of Labor

Labor Condition Applications 

iCERT case numbers are used by the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), Employment and Training Administration, United States Department of Labor, to identify and track applications for permanent and temporary labor certification as they move through the iCERT system to receive a final determination. OFLC automatically assigns an official case number to each application you submit for processing. 

OFLC case numbers appear in the following formats: [Visa Program Designation]-[3-digit Visa ID]-[5-digit Julian Date]-[6-digit Number Assignment]

Example: G-100-12345-123456

Visa Program designation includes the following values:

• G = PERM Application
• I = Labor Condition Application
• H = H-2A and H-2B Applications

3-Digit Visa ID (000) values are hard coded and include the following values:

• 100 = Basic PERM Application
• 101 = PERM Application for Professional Athletes
• 200 = H-1B
• 201 = H-1B1 Chile
• 202 = H-1B1 Singapore
• 203 = E-3 Australian
• 300 = H-2A
• 400 = H-2B

Next 5 digits indicate the Julian Date on which the case was submitted for processing

Next 6 digits indicate a random number assigned to the case by the iCERT System.