As part of a review and approval process that took place last summer, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) approved a new record retention schedule submitted by the Office of Foreign Labor Certifications (OFLC). Part of the revised schedule includes a retention period of only 5 years for both paper and electronic records “temporary records.” Accordingly, such records will be destroyed 5 years from the date a final determination letter or final action occurs.
H-1B Labor Condition Applications (LCA) retained in the LCA Online System are all beyond the 5 year retention period. Accordingly, effective October 17, 2014, the LCA Online System has been decommissioned and these records are no longer obtainable. The OFLC will no longer respond to inquiries to search for destroyed records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), nor will it provide information on requests for duplicate certifications for LCA applications processed in the LCA Online System.