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H1B Alert: Don't Submit the Right Evaluation for the Wrong Visa

  • Did they ask about the visa?
  • Did they ask about the job?
  • Do they work with H1B cases and their RFEs on a regular basis?
  • The right evaluation agency for you case, or your client or employee’s case is the one that asks about the visa and the job, and works regularly with H1B cases and H1B RFE cases. At TheDegreePeople, we follow CIS approval trends, and work regularly with H1B cases and their RFEs. We know what triggers common RFEs, and we know how to prevent them. For a free review of your case, or your client or employee’s case, visit http://ccifree.com/.]]>

    Is H1B the Right Filing for You? Find out NOW

    st is coming up fast, and it’s time to organize those H1B petitions. Before you begin the filing process, it’s important to know for certain that the candidate and the job meet H1B eligibility requirements. H1B requirements state that the job must require a minimum of a US bachelors degree or higher or its equivalent to perform, and the candidate must meet this educational standard in the field of the H1B job. That means you or your client or employee needs a US bachelors degree or higher or its equivalent in the correct field. Candidates with education from outside of the US, incomplete education, or complete education with a major in a field that doesn’t exactly match their H1B job get RFEs without taking precautionary measures in the initial petition. Last year, we saw a spike in occupational RFEs where computer programmers at level 1 wages were targeted for lacking in specialization. This year, before you file, make sure that the requirements are met, and that you have the additional documentation and evidence needed to prevent any RFEs you or your employee or client may be susceptible to given their circumstance. There are two factors to take into consideration when determining H1B eligibility: 1. The Occupation Does the beneficiary’s occupation meet H1B requirements? To qualify, it must require a minimum of a US bachelors degree or higher or its equivalent to carry out the complex duties of the job. To prove this, you will need to clearly show that this educational requirement is the standard for the industry, meaning that similar jobs in the industry at similar companies also have this minimum educational requirement. If this job is uniquely complex, you will have to clearly show how its duties require an unusual level of specialization. If you or your employee or client is a computer programmer at level 1 wages, you will need to include an expert opinion letter that explains how wage levels work in this instance – that level 1 wages does not mean the job is an entry-level position – and a detailed description of the job’s duties showing that a minimum of a US bachelors degree or its equivalent is needed. 2. The Education The beneficiary needs to have a US bachelors degree or higher or its equivalent in the exact field of the H1B job to get approved without an RFE. If you or your employee or client has a degree from outside of the US, a degree with a major that doesn’t match the job exactly, a generalized degree, or no completed degree, you will need to submit a credential evaluation along with the petition that fills in the missing gaps. This evaluation must be tailored to the beneficiary’s unique situation that takes their pathway through education, the job, and the visa requirements into consideration alongside CIS approval trends, graduate program and university admissions precedents, international trade agreements regarding educational portability, international education, and a whole host of other factors. If you talk to an agency and they don’t ask about the job or visa, look elsewhere, because without this information the right evaluation cannot be written. However, before you go through the process of ordering the evaluation and organizing the petition, you need to make sure you have, or your employee or client has the progressive work experience, external training, and academic course content to meet CIS educational requirements. For a free review of your case, visit ccifree.com and submit the educational documents and resume, and indicate the job in question. We will get back to you in 48 hours or less with a full analysis, whether or not the beneficiary can meet CIS educational requirements, and if so what is needed to be done to meet these requirements clearly.]]>

    H1B RFE Survival Guide For FY 2019

    st and August 31st, CIS issued 85,000 RFEs, which is a 45% increase from that same period of time in 2016. Going into this filing season starting Monday April 2nd, 2018 for FY 2019, we’re still anticipating the cap will be exceeded quickly and there will be an H1B lottery, and we’re anticipating a high volume of RFEs. To make sure your petition, or your client or employee’s petition gets into the H1B lottery, it MUST be filed between April 2nd and April 6th, 2018. As you prepare the petition, it’s important to keep in mind common RFEs from last year so you can take measures to prevent them this year. Last year, CIS issued an unprecedented number of RFEs regarding wages levels and occupational specialization. Here’s how it breaks down: First, H1B eligibility requires beneficiaries to be paid the prevailing wages and benefits for that position in companies in that industry of that size, and in that geographic location. Last year, a common RFE claimed that the wage level for the job in question was set too low, based on the complexity and specialization of the duties of the job. Second, for a job to be eligible for H1B, it must require a minimum of a US bachelors degree or its equivalent or higher. CIS issued an unprecedented number of Level 1 Wages RFEs last year claiming that the wage level indicates the job is entry-level. This becomes a problem when entry-level positions in the industry, or the job in question don’t meet the minimum H1B educational requirements. Before you file, make sure the beneficiary is being paid the prevailing wage for their H1B job. If the job is set at Level 1 Wages, but the position is not entry-level and does meet CIS educational requirements, you will need to include an expert opinion letter and additional documentation in the petition that states why the job and the wages still meet H1B requirements. We can help. Visit ccifree.com/ for a free review of your case.]]>

    Prepare for Tough RFEs for Specialty Occupation this H1B Season

    ccifree.com/ or simply reply to this email for a no cost and no obligation full review of your case, or your client or employee’s case. At TheDegreePeople.com, we work with RFEs every year. We know what triggers them, and we know how to answer them, and most importantly, we know how to prevent them. We will review the entire case, and get back to you within 48 hours with a full analysis, pre-evaluation, and our recommendations moving forward.]]>

    Attention: H1B Quota Opens April 1st for Fiscal Year 2019!

    st is coming right up! This is the date when CIS begins accepting cap-subject H1B petitions, and at TheDegreePeople, we predict the quota will be met within 5 business days. While demand for H1B visas continues to rise, there are still only 65,000 visas available for employees with US Bachelors degrees or their equivalency or higher, and an additional 20,000 for employees with US Masters degrees or their equivalent or higher. Last year, CIS accepted 236,000 petitions in five days. CIS is required to accept petitions for at least five business days, or until the quota has been exceeded. We predict that this year will be no different, giving beneficiaries, their employers, and their lawyers a very small window to file. When the number of petitions exceeds the visas available, CIS uses a randomized lottery to select visas. That means you need to be all ready to file on April 1st. While there’s nothing you can do for yourself, or your employee or client against lottery odds, you can make sure they 1) get into the lottery by filing on April 1st, and 2) file an impeccable petition that will be easy to approve. When you’re organizating the petition, keep in mind that some jobs and degrees are RFE magnets. For example, the Indian three-year bachelors degree will likely trigger an RFE if there is no credential evaluation included in the petition that converts work experience into a fourth year of college credit. The job Computer Systems Analysis tends to trigger RFEs because there are hardly any US bachelors degree majors with that exact title. That means candidates with this job need to include a credential evaluation with their petition that shows they have the equivalent of a degree in Computer Systems Analysis or an RFE will arrive instead of approval. Last year, we saw an unprecedented number of RFEs for computer programmers at level 1 wages. If your, or your employee or client is in this situation, you will want to include an expert opinion letter explaining why the job meets H1B specialization requirements. Before you file, let us review your case. We have experts and credential evaluators on hand to write the evaluation or opinion letter your client needs to prevent an RFE. Visit ccifree.com/ for a no charge and no obligation review of your petition, or your employee or client’s petition before you file. We will get back to you in 48 hours or less with a full analysis and pre-evaluation, along with our recommendations.]]>

    Your H1B Checklist for FY 2019

    st is coming up fast and that means it’s time to get started on H1B petitions for fiscal year 2019. For the past few years, the H1B quota of 65,000 visas and an additional 20,000 for candidates with US Masters degrees or higher or their equivalency has been met within the mandatory five business days that CIS must continue to accept petitions, causing the H1B lottery.  This year, we predict the same situation. That means you need to be ready to file right on April 1st. Before you file, make sure your petition, or your employee or client’s petition is seamless.  With so many petitions and so few annual cap-subject visas available, CIS is on the lookout for shortcuts to make their job easier.  Don’t let your petition, or your employee or client’s petition raise any red flags.  Make sure the requirements are met, and always be aware of common RFEs and CIS approval trends.  At TheDegreePeople, we work with difficult cases and RFEs every year and we keep a close eye on what CIS is doing.  Based on what we’ve seen over the past few years, here are some things to keep in mind when organizing the petition: 1. Does the job meet H1B requirements for specialization? To qualify for H1B eligibility, the job must have a minimum requirement of a US bachelors degree or higher or its equivalent.  To prove this, include the ad for the job that specifies its requirements, and include evidence that similar jobs in the industry require the same credentials.  If this job requires a unique level of specialization that is unusual to the typical occupation, include a detailed description of the job and its duties and an expert opinion letter explaining why this job requires an advanced degree to perform. Last year, CIS used this H1B requirement to issue the Level 1 Wages RFE to an unprecedented number of computer programmers petitioning for H1B status.  Their reasoning was that according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook by the US Department of Labor, entry level computer programmers are sometimes hired with only a US associates degree, which does not meet the H1B requirement of a US bachelors degree or higher.  This RFE caught everyone off guard and we won’t know until RFEs come out for the FY 2019 round of petitions whether or not measures to prevent this RFE will work.  However, if you, or your employee or client has this job at this wage level, here are our recommendations:  If you can, set the job at Level 2 Wages, or indicate a different occupation if you can.  The second option gets tricky because the job on the LCA must match the job on the H1B petition.  Before you try to fit your job, or your employee or client’s job into a different category, consult with us to make sure the job title fits the description, and that the job indicated also meets H1B requirements.  If you cannot take either of these measures, include an expert opinion letter that explains why this job meets H1B requirements.  We have experts on hand 24/7 to help you with this, and we have had great success in answering these RFEs. 2. Does the beneficiary and the employer have an employer-employee relationship? To meet H1B requirements, the employer must be able to hire, fire, promote and demote, pay, and otherwise control the work the employee does.  Along with this relationship comes the H1B requirement to pay the H1B employee the prevailing wages and benefits for similar jobs in that industry in that geographical location.  To prove this, include a copy of the employment contract and documentation that details the nature of the employee’s work. This is another area that CIS came down on H1B candidates last year with the Level I Wages RFE.  This issue can be addressed through the means mentioned above.  More importantly, it is important to explain the CIS in the expert opinion letter that just because a job is set at Level 1 Wages doesn’t mean it is entry level, and if it is not entry level, it does not mean that the employee is being underpaid.  That’s not how wage levels work; there are many factors to be taken into consideration that must be detailed in the expert opinion letter.  Including this with the initial H1B petition may be the key to preventing this difficult new RFE. 3. Does the beneficiary clearly meet H1B educational requirements for the job? H1B educational requirements state that to be eligible the beneficiary must have a US bachelors degree or higher or its foreign equivalent.  You, or your employee or client must hold an advanced degree that meets the requirements for the H1B job.  For the better part of the past decade, CIS approval trends have shown that the degree specialization must be an exact match for the job title.  This is where things get tricky. If the degree specialization is not an EXACT match for the field of employment, the beneficiary will need a credential evaluation that utilizes years of progressive work experience and a close examination of the courses taken within the degree program to write an evaluation that solidifies the equivalency to the correct degree in the correct field. If the degree was earned outside of the United States, you will need to include a credential evaluation that clearly spells out the academic value of the degree in terms of US educational standards.  Some degrees, like the Indian three-year bachelors degree, are RFE magnets because CIS is hung up on the missing fourth year even if there are an equal or greater number of actual classroom contact hours in the three-year degree.  Some jobs like Computer Systems Analysis are RFE targets because there are very few colleges and universities that offer that specific major track. For these two circumstances, you will need a professor with the authority to issue college credit for work experience to write an evaluation that converts years of progressive work experience in the field of the job into years of college credit.  Progressive work experience means that the nature of the work became more complex and specialized, and the beneficiary took on more responsibility as the work experience progressed.  This indicates that skills and knowledge specialized to the field were learned on the job.  At TheDegreePeople, we have professors on hand with the authority to write these evaluations. The final hangup with regards to education that tends to trigger an RFE happens when a beneficiary has a degree that doesn’t have the word “degree” in the title.  For example, the Indian Chartered Accountancy certification is actually the equivalent of a US bachelors degree in accounting.  The Canadian Chartered Accountancy and the US CPA are not bachelors degree equivalents.  If you or your client or employee has earned an Indian Chartered Accountancy certification, this credential DOES meet H1B eligibility requirements. You will need to submit a credential evaluation with the H1B petition that clearly describes the steps of education and exams – matriculation structure – required to earn this certification to show that the steps involved are equivalent to a US bachelors degree in accountancy. Before you file, let us review your client’s entire case to make sure there are no red flags, missing documentation or analysis, or gaps between the beneficiary’s job and education, and H1B eligibility requirements.  Simply visit ccifree.com/ and submit the educational documents, resume, and job description and we will respond within 48 hours with a full analysis and pre-evaluation of the case, and our recommendations for how to preempt an RFE for the FY 2019 filing season.]]>

    Dealing with the Level 1 Wages RFE this Year and Next

    [email protected]: • LCA • Beneficiary’s Resume and Educational Documents • Employer Support Letter • Detailed Job Description • RFE We will get back to you in 48 hours or less with a full review of the case and our recommendations on what to do next. As we’re wrapping up RFE season, we’re coming right up on filing season.  While we won’t know whether preventative measures will work for this RFE until next RFE season, there are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of dealing with the Level 1 Wages RFE again.  If the job can be set at Level 2 Wages, or the job title can be classified as a different occupation, including these changes in the petition and on the LCA may help prevent the Level 1 Wages RFE.  Remember, the LCA and the petition must be consistent, so whatever you enter in the LCA must be the same in the petition.  The job title must match the job description, so it’s important to be very careful when taking this preemptive measure.  We can consult with you on this.  If can also be helpful to include an expert opinion letter from an RFE response in the initial petition to clear up the misconception about Level 1 Wages and entry level positions from the start. To preempt RFEs that we have seen coming in after having answered the Level 1 Wages RFE, it’s always a good idea to include a thorough credential evaluation in the initial H1B petition to close any gaps between your or your employee or client’s education and their H1B job.  Foreign degrees, incomplete or nonexistent college education, and generalized degrees or degrees in specializations that are not an exact match for the job title all require credential evaluations to clearly show CIS that the education meets H1B requirements.  If you’re not sure whether you or your employee or client meets H1B educational requirements, let us review the case before you file in April.]]>

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