The Office of Foreign Labor certification (OFLC) is set to implement the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes on July 1, 2022.

Any Labor condition applications (LCAs) submitted prior to July 1, 2022, will be adjudicated based on the 2010 SOC codes. Any applications submitted after July 1, 2022, will be based on the new codes. Unfortunately, some of the codes that we all know, and love will no longer be used and will be replaced with an entirely new code.

For example, the commonly used 15-1132 Software Developer, Applications, will now be 15-1252 Software Developers. This code will also encompass 15-1133, Software Developer, Systems Software.

The 2018 SOC structure includes a total of 867 detailed occupations, aggregated into 459 broad occupations. In turn, the SOC combines these 459 broad occupations into 98 minor groups and 23 major groups. Of the 867 detailed occupations in the 2018 structure, 472 remained unchanged from 2010.

These new codes have been on ONET for some time, however as of July 1 they will also be reflected on the FLC Data Center website and in the FLAG system.

For PERMs any prevailing wages issued after July 1, 2022, will be based on the new codes, regardless of when the application was submitted.

OFLC also publishes new wages on July 1 of every year, and it is anticipated that this will result in an increase in wages across the board. Therefore, employers are strongly encouraged to file any LCAs as soon as possible to avoid the new higher wages.

For questions related to the above or anything else please contact PLG Partner cprescott@patellegal.com.