What's in Your Employer's H-1B LCA Public Access File (and How to Request It)

Every H-1B sponsor must keep a public file with your wage level and prevailing wage source, and federal law says you can ask to see it.

Part of our guide to H-1B wage levels.

If you are on H-1B, or waiting on a pending petition, you have probably never seen the document that actually sets your wage level and prevailing wage source. It exists, your employer is legally required to keep it, and you are allowed to ask for it. As of September 12, 2026, the rule behind it, 20 CFR 655.760, has not changed this year, but what is written inside that file now matters more than it used to, because your documented wage level feeds directly into how many H-1B lottery entries you get.

This is the LCA public access file. It is not your immigration file, your PERM case, or anything USCIS reviews when it decides your petition. It is a compliance document the Department of Labor requires every H-1B sponsor to assemble, and it is one of the few pieces of your own sponsorship paperwork you can request to see without going through your employer's immigration attorney.

What the public access file actually is

When an employer files a Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor as part of an H-1B petition, federal regulation 20 CFR 655.760 requires them to keep a companion file open for public inspection. It is separate from the LCA filing itself and separate from the H-1B petition USCIS adjudicates. Its purpose is narrow: let the public, including the worker the LCA covers, verify that the employer is paying at least the wage it attested to pay, and treating the worker consistently with similarly employed workers at the worksite.

You can learn the mechanics of the underlying filing in what an LCA actually is and how it fits into an H-1B petition, and how to look up any employer's past LCA filings yourself in how to search LCA filings for an H-1B visa.

What must be in the file

Under 20 CFR 655.760, the public access file must contain, at minimum:

Two documents are worth understanding on their own, because they are the ones most likely to matter to your case.

The prevailing wage source

The prevailing wage tells you the floor DOL considers acceptable for that occupation, in that metro area, at that experience level. As of September 2026, the authoritative source for those wage levels (I through IV) tied to a specific SOC code and metro area is the DOL FLAG Wage Search tool at flag.dol.gov, and the current wage data series covers July 2026 through June 2027. Some employers instead go through the National Prevailing Wage Center directly, and a formal Prevailing Wage Determination from NPWC grants the employer "safe harbor," meaning the Wage and Hour Division will not challenge a correctly applied wage during an investigation. Either path should be documented in the public access file, and the file should tell you which one was used. For the full mechanics of how that number gets set, see how H-1B prevailing wage is determined.

The wage level

Prevailing wage sources typically assign one of four wage levels, from Level I (entry, least complex duties) to Level IV (fully competent, most complex duties). This used to be mostly a compliance detail. It no longer is. Under the wage-weighted H-1B lottery, effective February 27, 2026, the wage level documented on your LCA determines your registration entries directly:

That is a direct, mechanical link between a line item in a compliance file you rarely see and your odds of being selected. If your job duties, required experience, and title look like a Level III or IV role but your LCA documents Level I or II, the gap is worth understanding, not to argue your case yourself, but to know what to ask your employer or an attorney about.

What is not in the file

The public access file is scoped narrowly. It will not contain:

• Your Social Security number or other personal identifiers
• Your immigration status, visa stamp, or travel history
• PERM or I-140 documents tied to a green card case, which live in a separate file
• Full compensation details beyond the attested wage, such as bonus structure or equity
• Internal performance reviews or personnel records

If you are hoping the public access file will tell you where your green card process stands, it will not. That information sits in a different, non-public case file your employer's counsel controls.

How to actually request it

You do not need a formal legal request or a specific USCIS form. The regulation puts the burden on the employer to produce the file promptly once asked.

1. Identify the LCA case number. It appears on your H-1B approval notice, or you can look up the employer's filings using the DOL's public LCA search tools.
2. Find the employer's designated LCA public disclosure contact. This is listed directly on the certified LCA form itself, and it is often someone in HR, legal, or an outside immigration firm the company retains.
3. Ask for the public access file tied to your specific LCA case number, in writing if possible, so there is a record of the request and the date.
4. Expect a response within one business day. That is the timeframe 20 CFR 655.760 requires for the employer to make the file available for inspection.
5. Review it against your actual job. Compare the wage level, wage rate, and job duties described against what you were told at hiring and what you actually do day to day.

If your employer is slow, evasive, or produces a file that is visibly incomplete, that is a compliance question, not something to resolve by drafting your own DOL complaint from a template. Route it to a licensed immigration attorney, who can tell you whether what you were shown satisfies the regulation and what, if anything, is worth reporting to the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Why this matters more in 2026

Three things happening at once make the public access file more relevant this year than in a typical filing cycle:

• The wage-weighted lottery ties your documented wage level to your registration odds, as described above, effective since February 27, 2026.
• DOL's proposed rulemaking to raise prevailing wage floors by 20 to 33 percent was published March 27, 2026, with the comment period closing May 26, 2026. As of September 12, 2026, no effective date has been set, so today's wage levels and dollar figures are governed by the current rule, not the proposal. Confirm the status with your employer's counsel or the Federal Register before assuming anything has changed.
• Employers are under more scrutiny generally, which means a public access file that is thin, outdated, or missing required elements is more likely to draw attention in a DOL investigation, and more useful for you to have reviewed ahead of time.

None of this means you should try to interpret the file's legal significance on your own, especially around whether a wage level was set correctly. It means the file is worth having seen.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the public access file is the same as your H-1B petition. It is not; the petition and its supporting evidence sit with USCIS and your employer's immigration counsel, not in the public file.
• Confusing the prevailing wage with your actual salary. The prevailing wage is a regulatory floor; your actual offered wage must meet or exceed it, and the file should show both figures along with the wage-setting methodology.
• Not checking which wage level was used. Given the wage-weighted lottery, a Level I or II designation on duties that look like Level III or IV work is worth understanding, not ignoring.
• Trying to resolve a discrepancy directly with DOL yourself. Filing a Wage and Hour Division complaint without first confirming the facts with an attorney can create friction with your employer before you know whether there is actually a compliance problem.
• Treating the file as proof of your green card timeline. PERM and I-140 records are entirely separate and are not part of the LCA public access file.
• Forgetting the file is tied to a specific LCA case number. If you have had multiple H-1B filings (extensions, amendments, transfers), each has its own LCA and its own public access file; ask for the one that matches your current, active case.

Frequently asked questions

What is the H-1B LCA public access file?

It is a file every H-1B sponsoring employer must assemble and keep on hand under 20 CFR 655.760, containing the certified Labor Condition Application, the wage the employer will pay, the prevailing wage and its source, and a summary of benefits offered to similarly employed workers. Employers must make it available for public inspection within one business day of a request.

How do I request my employer's LCA public access file?

Ask the employer's designated LCA contact, listed on the certified LCA form, for the file tied to a specific LCA case number. No special form is required, and the employer must produce it within one business day under the regulation.

What does the public access file not include?

It excludes your Social Security number, immigration status details, PERM and I-140 green card records, and compensation details beyond the attested wage. It is scoped narrowly to LCA wage and working-condition attestations.

How does my documented wage level affect the 2026 H-1B lottery?

Under the wage-weighted lottery in effect since February 27, 2026, Level IV gets four registration entries, Level III three, Level II two, and Level I one, so the wage level line in your public access file is directly tied to your selection odds.

What happens if my employer refuses to provide the public access file?

A refusal or a visibly incomplete file can be reported to the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. Confirm with a licensed immigration attorney whether the regulation was actually violated before you escalate, since your specific facts determine what the right next step is.

Reviewing your own LCA documentation is one small piece of managing a sponsorship-dependent job search. If you want help building a broader strategy around it, from targeting employers to preparing for the roles that actually sponsor, reach out to the F1Jobs team.