As of March 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has started deleting case records that are more than five years old from the Foreign Labor Access Gateway (FLAG) system.
Quick Hits
- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Records Schedule mandates that records classified as “temporary” be deleted after their retention period ends.
- Case records older than five years from the date of final determination within the FLAG system will be deleted.
- Deleted case records are permanently irretrievable from the FLAG system.
Only case records older than five years from the date of final determination within the FLAG system will be deleted and will include the following case types:
- Prevailing Wage Determinations
- Labor Certification Applications (H-2A, H-2B, CW-1 visas)
- Labor Condition Applications (H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visas)
Pursuant to NARA requirements, OFLC gave notice on February 14, 2025, that it would start deleting records from the FLAG system that were more than five years old on March 20, 2025. OFLC later stated that it would delay the start of the deletion until March 27, 2025. In the notice, stakeholders were encouraged to download any impacted records before March 27 because deleted records will be permanently irretrievable from the FLAG system once deleted.
The deleted records from the FLAG system will likely have minimal impact on employers or current visa holders, as these documents are normally downloaded from the system for use in immigration petitions. The common threshold for employer immigration compliance audits is five years.
