Foreign Labor Access Gateway (FLAG) is a portal that helps U.S. employers find qualified workers while ensuring protections for U.S. and foreign workers. All Temporary Labor Condition Applications such as H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, E-3 visas and even Permanent Labor Certification Applications (PERM) are stored in FLAG.
Starting this week, these applications will be eliminated from the FLAG system.
The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has informed the various stakeholders that records will be deleted from the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system beginning at midnight on March 20.
OFLC has provided public notice regarding its implementation of the approved Record Control Schedule, which requires the deletion of records within the Foreign Labor Access Gateway (FLAG) older than 5 years from the final determination date.
If a US employer has cases older than five years from the date of final determination within the FLAG system, they have been asked to download those cases no later than March 19, 2025.
The following OFLC programs will be impacted by this implementation:
Prevailing Wage Determinations (PWD)
Permanent Labor Certification Applications (PERM)
Temporary Labor Certification Applications (H-2A, H-2B, CW-1 visas)
Temporary Labor Condition Applications (H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visas)
Implementation of the approved Record Control Schedule will begin on and after Thursday, March 20, 2025. Deletions of eligible case records will be based on the final determination date recorded in the FLAG System of each case. For example, cases with a final determination date of March 21, 2020, will be deleted on March 21, 2025.
The NARA Records Schedule provides mandatory (disposition instructions) for managing agency records. Records classified as “permanent” due to historical value are transferred to the National Archives of the United States at the end of their retention period. All other records are classified as “temporary” and will be destroyed by the NARA Records Schedule or the Record Control Schedule.
