BLOG

When the number of cap-subject H-1B petitions exceeds the allotted 65,000 annual H-1B visas and additional 20,000 visas for beneficiaries with master’s degrees or higher, USCIS has a randomized lottery to select which petitions will be processed.  Like last year, electronic registration will be the first step, and then those selected will be asked to […]

When USCIS finds one red flag in a petition, that triggers a scrutiny of the entire case which can lead to RFEs that are very difficult to answer.  The Triple Threat RFE can be triggered by wage level specialty occupation, or education issues, and escalates to a monster RFE that calls all three into question. […]

With the new H-1B Interim Final Rule, it is more important this year than ever to make sure the H-1B employee’s degree specialization is an EXACT MATCH for the proffered position. The Interim Final Rule that goes into effect December 2020 narrows the definition of specialty occupation and codifies the way that USCIS has been […]

When USCIS finds one problem with an H-1B petition, they typically find more.  One red flag leads to a close scrutiny of the case and this leads to complex RFEs like the Double, Triple, and Nightmare RFEs.  The Double RFE that has become overwhelmingly common since 2017 takes issue with wage level and specialty occupation […]

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School study conducted in July of 2020 confirmed that immigration is essential for economic growth in the United States.  According to this study, immigrants are 80% more likely to be entrepreneurial.  Furthermore, companies started by immigrants create 42% MORE jobs than businesses started by Americans.  This was found to be […]

USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security have submitted an Interim Final Rule with request for comments, to go into effect December 7, 2020 which will restrict H-1B visa eligibility.  This rule will codify the USCIS approval trends we have been seeing since 2017. This rule changes the definitions of specialty occupation and United States […]

The Department of Homeland Security and USCIS have submitted an Interim Final Rule that will go into effect on December 7, 2020.  This rule restricts H-1B eligibility by revising two key definitions, one of which has been blocking the ability of USCIS to illegally deny H-1B visas: “specialty occupation.” This Final Interim Rule also revises […]

On March 30, 2020, USCIS announced that due to the COVID-19 crisis, RFE, NOID, and other notice respondents will have a 60-day grace period to file a response following the due date.  That means any response filed within 60 days of the deadline will be considered received by USCIS.  This grace period has been officially […]

The rate of RFE responses to H-1B initial petitions held stead from the second quarter of 2019 this year, rising from 35.3% to 35.8% this year.  However, while in 2019 only 58.8% of RFEs were successfully answered, this year 68.2% were approved in the second quarter of 2020.  We at CCI are proud to say […]