Sheila Danzig

The most common RFE reported by H-1B applicants has been Specialty Occupation issues.  However, this issue often arrives in tandem with Wage Level issues, creating the Double RFE.  Applicants for computer programmer jobs, entry level positions, and those making level one wages are at highest risk of this complex RFE.

Here’s how it works:

USCIS has been adjudicating the exception as the norm when it comes to positions that normally but do not always require a bachelor’s degree minimum for entry into a position.  This is often the case for entry level positions, including computer programmer, which is a common H-1B occupation.  USCIS will take issue with Specialty Occupation.  Then, if the position is set at level one wages, they will claim that if the position is not entry level, the beneficiary is not making the prevailing wage for the job.  However, if the position is entry level, there is a Specialty Occupation issue.  And around it goes.

Here’s how we helped our client in this situation answer this RFE:

We proved that the position is not entry level, and so it did require a bachelor’s degree or higher EVERY time.  Then, we showed USCIS the factors that went into setting the wage level.  The beneficiary had the advanced degree, but no work experience in the field and therefore required a high level of supervision to start and thus a lower starting wage.  We did this by guiding our client to provide evidence and documentation about the position for this company, and for parallel jobs in similar companies, as well as past employer hiring practices clearly showing the bachelor’s degree requirement.  We also did this by guiding our client to document the factors of setting the wage level appropriately.  Then, we tied it all together by providing our client an expert opinion letter written by an expert with extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job.  This letter analyzed the evidence and documentation presented, and leant weight to its conclusions that the eligibility requirements were met, covering both Specialty Occupation and Wage Level topic areas.

If you, or if your employee or client is facing a Double RFE, we can help!  Visit www.ccifree.com for a free review of your case.  We will respond in 4 hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

Complex RFEs occur when USCIS finds one red flag in an H-1B petition, triggering a deeper scrutiny of the case.  This is when the chaos of USCIS approval trends kicks in and wreaks havoc on an otherwise unremarkable petition.  Instead of approval, or even a simple RFE, applicants are met with an RFE that calls multiple eligibility issues into question, sometimes becoming so complex that the request is virtually impossible to answer in the given timeframe by its own instructions.

Common complex RFEs:

• The Double – this one takes issue with Specialty Occupation and Wage Level
• The Triple – this one takes issue with Specialty Occupation, Wage Level, and Education
• The Nightmare – also known as the Kitchen Sink, this RFE takes issue with everything you can possibly imagine.

The best way to answer complex RFEs is to read through it with your team, identify which eligibility areas it takes issue with, and then put it down.  Go to the petition and see where the case needs strengthening to clearly meet H-1B eligibility requirements.

For Specialty Occupation and Wage Level issues, the best practice is to include an expert opinion letter that covers both eligibility areas.  For education issues, include a credential evaluation that clearly explains that the beneficiary has the US academic value equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the exact field of the H-1B job.  For employer-employee relationship issues, include an itinerary of the work to be performed for the duration of the visa period, including customer or client contact information and explanation of how the employer will continue to control the employee’s work offsite.  Additional evidence and documentation will need to be identified and included to build the strongest response possible. 

An RFE is not the best news, but it is NOT a denial.  It is an opportunity to strengthen your case.  We can help.  For a free review of your case visit www.ccifree.com.  We will respond in 4 hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

This is the second year of USCIS’ new two-step H-1B visa application process, and USCIS discovered a major issue.  Over 400 duplicate registrations were discovered in this year’s H-1B lottery.  This is when multiple employers file H-1B registrations for the same beneficiary for the same position.  In some cases, companies worked together to improve the chances that the beneficiary will be selected.  In consequence, while in normal years 20-30% of registrations are selected in the H-1B lottery, only 7% were selected this year. 

USCIS has been issuing “Collusion” RFEs in these scenarios.  This was an issue in last year’s cycle, so USCIS required the inclusion of an attestation: “I further certify that this registration (or these registrations) reflects a legitimate job offer and that I, or the organization on whose behalf this registration (or these registrations) is being submitted have not worked with, or agreed to work with another registrant, petitioner, agent or other individual or entity to submit a registration to unfairly increase the chances of selection for the beneficiary or beneficiaries in this submission.”

When an employer makes this certification, if they have colluded with other organizations, they have committed perjury.  This will result in the petition being rejected and possible further legal consequences.  Unfortunately, it is surprisingly easy for it to appear that a petitioner has engaged in collusion even when they did not.  Here are the reasons why:

• H-1B beneficiaries CAN file multiple petitions for different employers.  Beneficiaries are allowed to seek out employers and employers can seek out and file petitions independently. 
• Often multiple employers receive resumes from recruiting companies and choose to hire the same people. 
• If an individual owns multiple companies, each company can file a petition for a single beneficiary so long as the jobs are not duplicated. 

These are all perfectly legal situations that can appear to USCIS as collusion, especially in the case of the individual that owns multiple companies.  This is because these companies may share office space, bank accounts, and have contracts with each other; all of these are red flags of collusion.  However, USCIS does not investigate to determine whether collusion actually occurred.  The burden to prove that collusion did not occur lands on the petitioner.  This trick is to prove that the registration is linked to a legitimate, unique job offer.

Duplicate petitions were so widespread in this year’s cap-subject H-1B filing season that there is a high likelihood of a second lottery.  That means if your registration was not selected in the first round, you may still get the opportunity to file a complete petition.  Remember, all requirements must be met in the complete petition submission, which is where the anti-collusion attestation occurs.  That means it is time to solidify evidence and documentation regarding the job offer and shore up documentation regarding recruitment and hiring to show that the petitioner did not collude before you file.  We can help!

Before you file, visit www.ccifree.com for a free review of your case.  We will respond in four hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

The best way to prevent or address education issue RFEs for H-1B petition filing is to include a credential evaluation that closes any gaps between the education the beneficiary has and the education USCIS will approve.  If any of the following situations apply to your case, you need a credential evaluation:

• Degree earned outside of the United States
• Incomplete college, no college, or credential from an unaccredited institution
• Degree earned in a specialization that is not an exact match for field of the H-1B job
• Three-year bachelor’s degree

An effective credential evaluation will clearly show USCIS that the beneficiary’s education, work experience, and additional training is the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the field of the H-1B job.  There are many credential evaluation agencies to choose from, and not every agency is suited to write the evaluation you need for visa approval.

Here’s how you know you’ve got the WRONG agency:

1. They don’t respond promptly to call, text, email, and social media.

2. They won’t discuss the equivalence until AFTER your pay.

3. They didn’t tell you how the evaluation will work for the visa you are filing.

4. They don’t ask about the job or the work experience.

5. They work on business hours 9-5 Monday – Friday, NOT clock hours.

If you see any of these red flags, look elsewhere!

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we write every evaluation uniquely to fit the job, the education, the visa, the work experience, and USCIS approval trends.  We are available 24/7 via call, text, email, or social media, and we offer affordable rush delivery options.  Don’t let an education issue slip under your radar.  Let us review your case for free!  Visit www.ccifree.com and we will respond in 4 hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

H-1B beneficiaries with education credentials earned outside of the United States need to include a credential evaluation in their initial petition.  This document shows USCIS the educational value of the foreign credential in terms of US academic value.  Since possessing a bachelor’s degree or higher is a central eligibility requirement for this visa, it is essential to show the foreign credential is at LEAST the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree.

This is not a straightforward process.  Some foreign degrees share titles with US degrees but have different academic values.  Secondary and post-secondary education program duration varies from country to country.  Classroom contact hours do not directly evaluate into years of education.  USCIS is very picky about what they will accept as the equivalent of a US credential, and this gets even more specific when it comes to degree specialization for H-1B visas.

The RIGHT credential evaluation is written uniquely to address the beneficiary’s education and work experience, the proffered position, H-1B eligibility requirements, and USCIS approval trends.  Many credential evaluation agencies write cookie-cutter evaluations that don’t take non-educational factors into account.  These evaluations will NOT get the visa approved.  The right evaluation agency will be available to communicate via text, call, email, or social media with prompt response across all platforms, offer affordable rush delivery options, and write each evaluation uniquely.  The first two attributes show that they understand what visa applicants need from service providers.  You will be able to tell if the agency writes unique evaluations if they ask about the following factors: the education, work experience, the visa, and the job.  All of these aspects need to be taken into account when writing an evaluation that will clearly show USCIS that the beneficiary has the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the exact field of the H-1B job.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we write every evaluation to uniquely fit the situation.  We always keep one eye on USCIS to track approval trends to prevent RFEs and Denials.  Let us review your case before you file. 

Visit www.ccifree.com for a free review of your case.  We will respond in four hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

The notorious Specialty Occupation RFE has become a perennial roadblock to H-1B approval for applicants in positions that normally but NOT ALWAYS require a bachelor’s degree minimum.  Often, this issue grows into a Double RFE when the job is set at Level 1 Wages, causing applicants to revisit both specialty occupation and wage level requirements.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with specialty occupation cases every year.  We know what red flags trigger USCIS to issue an RFE, and we know how to prevent them.  This first step is to identify if your case is at risk:

• The entry in the Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook states that the position does not ALWAYS require a bachelor’s degree minimum.
• The employee starts at Level 1 Wages.
• The H-1B position is entry level.

USCIS has been consistently adjudicating the exception as the norm when it comes to advanced degree requirements.  In the past, occupations like computer programmer would easily meet specialty occupation requirements because employers typically require the bachelor’s degree minimum.  Now, applicants are running into trouble.  When the compensation is set at Level 1 Wages, USCIS assumes that either the position is entry level, or the employee is not being paid the prevailing wage for the job.  The reality is, many four-year college graduates enter the workforce with bachelor’s degrees but little to no work experience in the field.  These workers require a level of training and supervision that factors in to setting their starting wage at Level 1 Wages, even if the position is not entry level.  If the position is entry level, often there will not be a bachelor’s degree requirement in every single instance someone is hired to the position. 

If any of these situations apply to your case, you will need to go the extra mile to prove to USCIS that the job meets specialty occupation – and by extension wage level – requirements for H-1B eligibility.  This means showing that the job in question is uniquely specialized so as to require the employee to have at a minimum the knowledge and applicable skills learned through a bachelor’s degree program in the field.  You will need to show that the employer consistently makes hiring decisions for this position that require a bachelor’s degree minimum, and that it is the same for this position in parallel companies.  This means providing the ad for the job and parallel jobs for different companies, the job contract, and a breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of the job.  You will also need to include a breakdown of the factors that went into setting the wage level appropriately. To tie it all together, you will need to include an expert opinion letter from a professional with extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job.  This expert ideally has made hiring decisions regarding this position and supporting roles that require the employee in this position to have a bachelor’s degree minimum.  This letter can address both specialty occupation and wage level issues.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with experts in all H-1B fields.  We will work with you to identify the additional evidence and documentation needed for the expert to write a strong letter, and needed to include in your initial petition to show USCIS that the case meets specialty occupation and wage level requirements. 

For a free review of your case visit www.ccifree.com.  We will respond in four hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

To meet H-1B eligibility requirements, a job situation must entail an employer-employee relationship.  This essentially means that the employer has the right and ability to control the work of the employee.  Specifically, the employer may, “hire, pay, supervise, or otherwise control the work of any such employee.”

Although this seems like a straightforward requirement, petitioners have been running into trouble in the following situations:

• H-1B employee works as a consultant or for a consultancy
• H-1B employee spends time working offsite at third-party worksites
• Employer workflow is on a per-project basis
• Employer workflow is irregular due to client/customer needs.

These situations have become even more common with the increased prevalence of remote work.  The nature of the employer-employee relationship has not fundamentally changed.  However, petitioners are having to go the extra mile to prove the employer’s ability to control the employee’s work offsite, and provide the employee consistent work for the duration of the H-1B visa period.  Those who fail to do this receive RFEs instead of approval.

The best way to answer an RFE is to prevent it.  That means including additional documentation with the initial petition.  This should include a copy of the employee contract showing the mechanisms of the employer’s ability to control the employee’s work, onsite and offsite.  Provide additional information regarding how the employer will be able to continue to control the employee’s work when offsite, including reporting requirements, hours tracking, work quality tracking, and remote supervision solutions utilized.  To show a constant workflow, include an itinerary of the work the H-1B employee will perform for the duration of the H-1B visa period, including client names and contact information.

Education issues, specialty occupation issues, and wage level issues continue to be RFE magnets that trip up eligible H-1B applicants.  When USCIS finds one problem with a petition, they look for more.  That’s how petitioners end up with complex RFEs.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with the entire range of H-1B cases every year.  We know which situations trigger issues and we know what additional evidence and documentation to provide to strengthen your case and get that visa approved outright.  Let us review your case before you file.

For a free review of your case visit www.ccifree.com.  We will respond in 4 hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

Over the better part of the last decade, computer programmers have been running into H-1B eligibility issues for the first time.  This is because according to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, entry level computer programmers can qualify for a position with just an associate’s degree.  This is the exception, not the norm, as the position typically requires a bachelor’s degree. 

For a job to qualify as a specialty occupation and meet H-1B eligibility requirements, the rule states that it must normally require a minimum bachelor’s degree or higher for entry into the position. Unfortunately, the USCIS approval trend to adjudicate the exception as the norm for specialty occupation eligibility is a persistent one.  Computer programmers applying for H-1B status run a high risk of RFE before approval for this reason.

Here is how to prevent it:

Include an expert opinion letter in your initial petition submission written by an expert with extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job.  This expert should have experience making hiring decisions regarding this position and supporting positions.  Provide additional documentation for the expert to write an opinion, and to provide to USCIS in the initial petition that shows the position meets specialty occupation requirements.  This includes the ad for the job and similar jobs that show a bachelor’s degree requirement, as well as proof of past hiring practices for the position that show your company has a history of hiring those with a bachelor’s degree minimum to this position.  Also include a breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of the job and how they require skills and understanding gained through completion of a bachelor’s degree in the field.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with experts in every H-1B field and have 24 hour availability to write expert opinion letters for your petition. The most important part is that you provide the expert with enough evidence and documentation regarding the position to write a compelling letter.

Computer programmers are far from the only H-1B beneficiaries at risk of specialty occupation RFEs for the same reason.  Find out before USCIS does so you can take preventative steps to make sure your H-1B employee starts work on October 1^st, 2023.  We can help!

For a free review of your case, visit www.ccifree.com.  We will respond in 4 hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

The Biden Administration announced that marriage-based Green Card interviews are waived under the following circumstance:

• The Green Card application is filed in the United States at a USCIS Service Center.
• The filing is successful.

This policy follows the logic – that has been obvious to most of us for a LONG time – that if everything is in order and checks out at the Service Center, then the foreign-born spouse is eligible for a Green Card.  The interview is unnecessary. 

Scheduling an interview for marriage-based Green Cards can take up to six months.  For those in the United States, waiver of the interview can cut the wait time to get your Green Card nearly in half. 

Not to mention interviews are stressful and can make even the most legitimate couple seem suspicious.  Questions like, “How many people were at your wedding?” or, “where did you go on your first date?” or, “what time did you leave your wedding reception?” or even, “who does the housework and what day does your garbage get picked up?” can fail to jog anyone’s memory, especially under stress.  AND especially if the couple is separated.  Who really does the housework? Questions can be – and often are – subjective.   Jump on this opportunity to avoid the whole situation. 

Since this is an Administration policy and not a law, now is the time to act to save time, stress, and the possibility of having your Green Card rejected. There is no guarantee that this policy will carry over come 2025.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

Petitioners selected in the FY 2024 H-1B lottery have been notified and have 90 days from the date of notification to file complete petitions.  We are a couple weeks into filing season and there is no time to waste! While the rate of RFEs has dropped, applicants are still running into issues due to strict USCIS approval trends which make it difficult for applicants to know what USCIS considers a red flag before it’s too late.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we work with clients with RFEs every year.  We know how to answer them, and we also know that the best way to beat an RFE is to prevent an RFE by being aware of common eligibility issues and addressing them before it becomes a visa approval issue.

1. Three-year bachelor’s degree. This is particularly an issue for applicants with Indian three-year bachelor degrees.  While there are comparable classroom contact hours between this three-year degree and a US four-year degree, USCIS is hung up on that missing fourth year of college.  The best way to prevent this is a work experience conversion that converts three years of progressive work experience into one year of college credit.

• Degree specialization in a different field than the H-1B job.  Years ago, USCIS would accept that an H-1B employee with a degree in a field related to the H-1B job made them eligible for H-1B status.  Unfortunately, it has become the norm that the degree must be an exact match for the H-1B job.  If the degree is generalized or mismatched from the exact field of the H-1B job, a credential evaluation that takes course content and work experience in the field of the H-1B job into account can fill in any gaps between the degree the beneficiary has and the degree the beneficiary needs. 

• Occupation does not ALWAYS require a bachelor’s degree or higher.  According to eligibility requirements, to qualify as a specialty occupation a job must normally require a US bachelor’s degree or higher to be hired.  USCIS has consistently been adjudicating the exception as the norm.  If a job does not ALWAYS require a bachelor’s degree or higher, such as Computer Programmer, USCIS has been issuing RFEs instead of approving the visa.  In this case, you will need an expert opinion letter written by an expert in the field of the H-1B job who has experience making hiring decisions regarding the position in question.  You will also need to provide additional documentation as to why this job in particular requires an advanced degree.

These are just three of the many perennial H-1B eligibility issues that applicants run into.  Employer-employee relationship and wage level issues are also common, along with other unexpected education issues that can typically be addressed with a detailed credential evaluation.  Before you file, let us review your case for free to catch those red flags before USCIS does and fix them.  We write each credential evaluation uniquely, we work with experts in all H-1B fields, and we will consult with you on what additional evidence and documentation is needed to strengthen your case.

For a free review of your case visit www.ccifree.com.  We will respond in four hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.