Labor Dept. On LCA's Revised Retention Schedule

On July 8, 2013, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) approved OFLC's revised retention schedule following a 30-day period of public notice and review. As part of its review and approval process, NARA determined employer applications for labor certification and supporting documentation, whether retained in paper and electronic form, are temporary records and subject to destruction in accordance with an approved disposition schedule. The OFLC-approved disposition schedule authorizes the retention of records for a period of 5 years following the date a final determination letter is issued or final action occurs, such as a withdrawn application, subject to an active investigation or litigation hold.

The records NARA identified as permanent records are the annual disclosure data files currently located on the FLC Data Center at http://www.flcdatacenter.com, as well as the quarterly disclosure data files and the OFLC Annual Reports located on the OFLC Performance page at http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/performancedata.cfm.

Labor Condition Applications (LCA) retained in the LCA Online System: As of Thursday, April 17, 2014, the OFLC no longer has access to employer H-1B, H-1B1 or E-3 application records that are beyond the retention period of 5 years from a date of final determination or final action, and stored in the LCA Online System which is located at: http://www.lca.doleta.gov. The records have been destroyed in accordance with OFLC's Record Schedule DAA-0369-2013-0002. Prior to the destruction of the records, any records within the 5 year retention period, part of an active investigation, Freedom of Information Act requests, or mandatory litigation hold have been identified and were not destroyed. Employers will still be able to access applications processed in 2009. The OFLC will no longer respond to inquiries to search for records in response to FOIA requests, or provide information for requests for duplicate certifications for LCA applications with a final determination issued in 2008 or earlier, in keeping with the OFLC records schedule.