When an H1B petition is approved, the beneficiary is limited to the job site shown on the LCA and H petition. If the employer reassigns the employee to another job site, a new LCA and H1B petition amendment is required. The exception is where the new job site is in the same MSA (metropolitan statistical area) as the original petition.

When the new job site is within the same MSA, a petition amendment is not needed if the only materials change is the job site. Instead, the employer must obtain a newly certified LCA before the move. If the employer gets a newly certified LCA before the move, then a petition amendment is not required.

It is of critical importance for employees to make sure that employers comply with all regulatory requirements. Employers must post notices at all sites covered by a new LCA, so there is no reason why the employee should not know about the new LCA. If an employer fails to comply with the law, the employer is subject to administrative fines for that omission. The employee, however, suffers as well. The employee will be regarded as out of status. This will cause serious problems when the employee seeks to extend his or her stay with the current employer or tries to switch to a different employer.