# The reference desk (XH1B)

> https://www.xh1b.org/learning/reference

Eleven pages that answer one procedural question each. They work on their own; jump to the question you came with. The eight-lesson course is one click away.

## How the program works

- [What Is H-1B?](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/what-is-h1b-visa): The cap, lottery, wage rules, and the path from filing to visa.
- [The H-1B Lottery](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-lottery): Registration, weighted selection, petition, approval: the season in order.
- [The LCA](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/lca-explained): Read the wage promise behind every H-1B filing.
- [SOC Codes, Explained](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/soc-codes-explained): What occupation codes identify, their versions, and the wages beside them.
- [USCIS](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/uscis): What USCIS decides, and where DOL takes over.

## Cases, money, and clocks

- [Case Status](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-status): How to read an H-1B case status and its public record.
- [H-1B Fees](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-fee): The filing fees that make up the H-1B cost stack.
- [Processing Times](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-processing-time): The separate clocks that shape an H-1B case.

## Job changes and extensions

- [H-1B Transfers](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-transfer): What changes when an H-1B worker changes employers.
- [H-1B Extensions](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-extension): How extensions work within the H-1B time limit.

## Permanent residence and policy

- [H-1B to Green Card](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-green-card): The path from H-1B status to permanent residence.
- [PERM, Explained](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/perm-explained): The green-card labor certification, its statuses, and Certified-Expired.
- [H-1B Proclamation](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-proclamation): What the presidential proclamation changed and what it did not.

## Worker rights and help

- [Worker Exploitation & Trafficking](https://www.xh1b.org/learning/h1b-human-trafficking): Warning signs, worker rights, and help with reporting employer abuse.

## What does each kind of evidence show?

The first three examples are fictional teaching scenarios. They describe no worker or employer in this archive. The fourth is a dated agency report.

### Offered wage — fictional example

Illustration: an LCA lists an annual offer of $84,000. This is a hypothetical filed offer. It does not show the worker’s payroll payments.

### Payroll evidence — fictional example

Illustration: a pay statement lists $3,000 in gross wages for a two-week period. These amounts are hypothetical. Keep that period, hours, deductions, and payment records together. Compare the same worker and period before drawing a conclusion about pay.

### Open question — fictional example

Does a lower payment reflect fewer covered days, a deduction, or unpaid time? The offer and one pay statement do not answer that question. Obtain the relevant records and check the required wage and any applicable nonproductive-time rules. [1](#reference-reference-bench-pay)

### Agency finding — historical example

On February 15, 2019, DOL reported that an administrative law judge ordered TLC Precision Wafer Technologies Inc. to pay a former employee $43,366 in back wages plus interest. DOL reported a failure to pay required wages and maintain required records. This describes that case; it makes no finding about another employer. [2](#reference-reference-tlc-2019-wage-order)

Example sources checked October 12, 2026. The historical report does not establish the employer’s current compliance.



## References

<a id="reference-reference-bench-pay"></a>
<a id="reference-reference-required-wage"></a>

1. Law or rulemaking · eCFR. [20 CFR 655.731](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/section-655.731). 20 CFR 655.731(c)(7); 20 CFR 655.731(a). Employer-caused nonproductive time and qualifying voluntary or unrelated absences have different rules.; The required wage is the higher of the actual wage and prevailing wage. An independent market median is a comparison, not this legal test. Checked 2026-10-08.

<a id="reference-reference-tlc-2019-wage-order"></a>

2. Primary record · U.S. Department of Labor. [Judge orders TLC Precision Wafer Technologies to pay back wages](https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20190215-0). February 15, 2019; release 19-0233-CHI. Historical agency news release. No current compliance or appeal-status claim. Checked 2026-10-12.