How can the LCA process be abused?
The DOL (Department of Labor) has absolutely no way to verify that the take home salary of the H-1B matches what the LCA (Labor Condition Application) states. That is because the DOL hands over the LCA to INS Immigration and Naturalization Service. INS makes an entirely new form called an I-129. The two databases don’t talk with each other. That means the DOL doesn’t have the capability of using their unique case number to check the status of a particular H-1B visa holder. What I’m really saying is that the H-1B could be making more, or much less than what is stated. This salary figure is a “good faith” promise that they will pay that salary. There is no enforcement of the salary because there is no way to verify that the H-1B makes the salary stated on the LCA. Here is another way that bodyshops can abuse the system. If an LCA says, for example, $50,000, and the bodyshop takes $15,000, the intent of the law is met even though the H-1B makes $35,000. They can say that the H-1B makes $5
