H-1B & LCA Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the H-1B and LCA terms used across h1b.report. The data comes from public U.S. Department of Labor LCA disclosures. This site is independent, not affiliated with the DOL or USCIS, and nothing here is legal advice.
- Annualized wage (full-time equivalent)
An annualized wage is a salary converted to a yearly, full-time figure so filings can be compared on the same scale. h1b.report normalizes hourly, weekly, and monthly pay to annual USD, using 2,080 hours per year for hourly wages. See the methodology for the exact rules.
- Beneficiary
A beneficiary is the foreign worker an employer seeks to employ through an H-1B petition. The beneficiary is named on the USCIS Form I-129 rather than on the LCA, so individual workers are not identified in DOL disclosure data.
- Canonical employer
A canonical employer is a single reconciled company identity built from the many name spellings found in DOL files, so each sponsor has one consistent profile. The reconciliation lets h1b.report group filings on one employer page instead of scattering them across spelling variants.
- Cap-exempt
Cap-exempt describes H-1B petitions not subject to the annual numerical cap, typically filed by universities, affiliated nonprofits, and certain research organizations. Unlike cap-subject petitions, they can be filed year-round without the lottery.
- Cap-subject
Cap-subject describes H-1B petitions that count against the yearly numerical limit and must usually go through the annual registration and lottery. The cap is 65,000 plus a 20,000 advanced-degree exemption.
- Case status
Case status is the final DOL disposition of an LCA: Certified, Certified-Withdrawn, Withdrawn, or Denied. It reflects the DOL wage attestation, not the USCIS visa decision.
- Certification rate
Certification rate is the share of an employer's LCAs that the DOL certified. It is a DOL wage-attestation measure, not a USCIS approval rate, and it underpins the cleanest sponsors view.
- Certified
Certified is a DOL case status meaning the agency approved the LCA's wage and working-condition attestations. A certified LCA is not a visa or an approved worker; the H-1B itself is decided later by USCIS.
- Certified-withdrawn
Certified-withdrawn is an LCA that the DOL certified and the employer later withdrew. It is not counted as a certification in h1b.report's certification rate, which feeds the cleanest sponsors ranking.
- Denied
Denied is a DOL case status meaning the LCA's wage attestation was rejected. It differs from Withdrawn, where the employer voluntarily pulled the application before a decision.
- Disclosure data
Disclosure data is the set of quarterly public datasets the DOL releases listing every LCA received, with employer, job title, worksite, wage, and final case status. h1b.report normalizes these files; see the methodology.
- DOL (Department of Labor)
The DOL (U.S. Department of Labor) is the federal department that receives and certifies Labor Condition Applications through its Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Its published files are the source for everything on the site; see the methodology.
- E-3 visa
The E-3 visa is a work visa for Australian nationals in specialty occupations. Like the H-1B, it requires a certified LCA and therefore appears in DOL disclosure data.
- FEIN
FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number) is the IRS tax ID that uniquely identifies a U.S. employer. It helps distinguish similarly named companies when building a canonical employer profile.
- Fiscal year (FY)
Fiscal year (FY) is the U.S. federal accounting year, running October 1 to September 30. H-1B data is reported by fiscal year, so a partly reported year shows lower totals until later quarters publish — a factor the forecast accounts for.
- Form I-129
Form I-129 is the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker filed with USCIS after the LCA is certified. Its outcome is the actual visa decision and is not part of the DOL disclosure data.
- H-1B lottery / registration
The H-1B visa is a U.S. nonimmigrant work visa for specialty occupations, requiring a certified LCA from the DOL and an approved Form I-129 petition from USCIS. Filing volume trends inform the H-1B forecast.
- H-1B visa
The H-1B1 visa is a variant of the H-1B for nationals of Chile and Singapore. It also requires a certified LCA and appears in DOL disclosure data.
- H-1B1 visa
The H-1B lottery is the annual electronic registration and random selection USCIS uses when cap-subject H-1B demand exceeds the yearly limit. Employers register beneficiaries first, and only selected registrations may file a full petition.
- LCA (Labor Condition Application)
An LCA (Labor Condition Application) is the form an employer files with the DOL before sponsoring an H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 worker, attesting to wage, worksite, and job title. An LCA is not a visa, and a certified LCA is not an approved worker.
- Median / P25 / P75 wage
These are wage statistics: the median is the middle wage, while P25 and P75 are the 25th and 75th percentiles, showing how pay spreads around the middle. They are computed from offered wages on LCAs as described in the methodology.
- NAICS code
A NAICS code is the North American Industry Classification System code identifying an employer's industry. h1b.report uses it to group filings by sector so you can compare hiring across industries.
- Offered wage vs actual wage
OFLC (Office of Foreign Labor Certification) is the DOL office that processes LCAs and publishes the quarterly disclosure datasets that power h1b.report. See the methodology for how those files are used.
- OFLC (Office of Foreign Labor Certification)
The offered wage is the salary committed on the LCA and is what the data captures; it is not necessarily take-home pay or guaranteed earnings. Where a wage range is filed, h1b.report uses the lower bound, as explained in the methodology.
- Petitioner
A petitioner is the employer that files the H-1B petition on a worker's behalf, signs the LCA, and later submits the Form I-129 to USCIS. Each petitioner appears on its own employer page.
- Prevailing wage
The prevailing wage is the minimum wage an employer must offer for a role and location so H-1B hiring does not undercut local pay. It is derived from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics survey; see the methodology for how it relates to the offered wage.
- Prevailing wage levels (I–IV)
Prevailing wage levels are four experience tiers used to set the prevailing wage: Level I Entry, Level II Qualified, Level III Experienced, and Level IV Fully competent. Higher levels carry higher required wages, as detailed in the methodology.
- SOC code
A SOC code is the Standard Occupational Classification code that maps a free-text job title to a standardized occupation. h1b.report uses it to build consistent occupation salary guides across employers.
- Sponsor / sponsoring employer
A sponsor is an employer that files LCAs and H-1B petitions to hire foreign workers. Each sponsor is shown individually on its employer profile page.
- USCIS
USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) is the agency that adjudicates the H-1B petition after the DOL certifies the LCA. Its decisions are the actual visa outcomes and are not part of DOL disclosure data.
- Withdrawn
Withdrawn is a DOL case status meaning the employer pulled the LCA, often because the role was filled or the candidate dropped out. It is not a denial or a negative quality signal.