Sheila Danzig

One of the central purposes of the H-1B visa program is to attract foreign students to US colleges and universities by offering a post-graduate opportunity to stay in the country and work specialty occupations.  The H-1B visa is a visa of dual intent which allows beneficiaries the option to pursue pathways to citizenship if they so choose. Additionally, H-1B employees tend to earn higher wages, with $101,000 as the median annual income.

The Department of Homeland Security and Biden Administration are proposing changes to the H-1B visa program to provide more flexibility for F-1 individuals making the shift to H-1B.  Being the focus of new legislation is a mixed bag, however this does emphasize the importance of F-1 students to the vitality of the H-1B visa program, and in turn to the economic health and competitiveness of US industries.  For just one example, there are currently over 1.5 million job vacancies in computer occupations.  About 56,000 new H-1B petitions are for computer occupations annually.  That means there are nearly 30 times more computer job openings than there are H-1B beneficiaries eligible to fill them.

For F-1 students who want to make the shift to H-1B status following graduation, the first step is to plan ahead.  Apply for specialty occupation positions with employers who hire H-1B workers to be your sponsor.  If your position is subject to the annual H-1B cap, you will need to be ready to register for the H-1B lottery this coming March.  Some H-1B positions are not cap-subject, including jobs for nonprofits, institutions of higher education, and medical institutions.  It is essential to be aware of any deadlines.  When your petition is filed, it must be filed as a “Change of Status.”  If approved, the beneficiary can begin work on October 1, 2022, at the start of FY2023.

If the beneficiary’s F-1 status expires before their H-1B status begins, they may be eligible for a cap-gap extension.  This applies to beneficiaries with cap-subject H-1B occupations.  USCIS explains, “An F-1 student who is the beneficiary of a cap-subject H-1B petition and request for change of status that is filed on time may have their F-1 status and any current employment authorization extended until the first day of the new fiscal year.”  For this reason, it is essential to file on time.

Along with proposed changes to F-1 to H-1B, there are also proposed changes to H-1B cap-subject selection that would favor high earners, and further erode what qualifies as a specialty occupation. As evidenced by approval trends of previous years, and by these proposed changes, entry level positions are particularly vulnerable to RFEs and Denials.  This is because entry level workers make lower wage levels, and because USCIS does not always accept that these positions meet specialty occupation requirements – particularly positions that normally but do not ALWAYS require a US bachelor’s degree minimum.  Challenges with entry level positions are a particular problem for recent college and university graduates seeking to change from F1 to H-1B status.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we have encountered specialty occupation RFEs, wage level issue RFEs, and the Double RFE which rolls these two issues into one complex RFE. We have found the most successful way to answer these RFEs is with an expert opinion letter written by an expert in the field of the H-1B job with at least ten years’ experience working directly in the field, as well as leadership experience wherein they made hiring decisions regarding the H-1B position and supporting positions reliant on the H-1B position.  This letter is based on evidence and documentation provided by the petitioner regarding the position in question, past hiring practices, and wage level factors and will lend weight to the validity of the case.  We work with the RIGHT experts in every H-1B field to make sure beneficiaries get the support needed for H-1B visa approval.

Before you file, 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.

This past year has seen some monumental shifts in education and work-based immigration.  As we bring in the New Year, it is important to acknowledge the peculiarities of this year in the world of immigration, and to celebrate the victories we have had in the world of visa approval and immigration reform.

The number of education-based green cards doubled for this year due to the massive amount of unused family-based green cards during COVID-19 shutdowns worldwide.  This provided the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of skilled foreign nationals to live and work in the United States and pursue citizenship.

This year, immigration lawyers, H-1B beneficiaries and their sponsors, and other active parties pulled together to block the lottery from being converted into a wage-based system.  We fought for fair and legal H-1B visa adjudication in our petitions, RFE responses, and even in court.  In result, the RFE rate plummeted and the H-1B visa approval rate rose.  This took a massive effort, perseverance, and a healthy dose of creativity, and together we made massive strides.

Much of this year has been damage control from years of targeted attacks on the H-1B program, and from pandemic-based immigration hindrances.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we are excited for what 2022 holds, as we build on the momentum of the past year. 

Sheila Danzig

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

Since 2017, specialty occupation H-1B RFEs have become commonplace even for occupations that had never before run into trouble.  Here is why:

In terms of H-1B eligibility, the beneficiary must work in a specialty occupation and so the burden of proof is on the petitioner to show that the H-1B job meets one of the following eligibility categories:

1. The job normally requires attainment of a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent as a minimum educational requirement for entry into the job.
2. A US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent is required for this particular position and in the same position in similar organizations within the industry.
3. The employer always requires a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent for this position as evidenced by past hiring practices.
4. This position is uniquely complex and specialized as to require the skills and knowledge associated with completion of a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent to perform.

In 2017, USCIS began adjudicating “normally” as “always.”  If an occupation did not ALWAYS require a bachelor’s degree minimum according to the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, USCIS would issue a specialty occupation RFE.  In effect, they ruled the exception as the norm for jobs that would otherwise would not have run into any issue. 

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we work with specialty occupation RFEs every year and the best way to get them overturned is with the support of an expert opinion letter.  We always recommend including one with the initial petition.  However, a computer programmer client came to us last year who did just that and STILL received a specialty occupation RFE. 

Here’s why: the expert opinion letter was written by an INSTRUCTOR for the field of the H-1B job.  While this expert had extensive experience teaching ABOUT the field, they had very little actual experience working in the field of the H-1B job, nor had they been in positions of authority within the field.  USCIS would not accept the validity of this expert’s opinion.

USCIS will only accept the opinions of experts with extensive experience working directly in the field of the H-1B job.  This expert should have held positions of authority within the field wherein they made hiring decisions regarding the H-1B position in question.  We work with the RIGHT experts in every H-1B field.  We requested the client provide additional evidence and documentation regarding the position in question, including a detailed breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of the job highlighting which skills and knowledge are attained through completion of an advanced degree.  We requested the ad for the job and ads for the same position for similar companies, as well as proof of past hiring practices. 

Our expert was able to use this information and the weight of their credentials to write an expert opinion letter clearly showing USCIS that the position met specialty occupation requirements.  The RFE got overturned and our client got to work on time! 

If your employee or client is facing specialty occupation issues, 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.

Unsure of your H-1B petition status?  Does it seem like processing time is dragging?  Has your address or other contact information changed since the time of filing leave you concerned that maybe you missed something?  You can get peace of mind by checking your case status online through the USCIS Case Status Online portal.

Here is what you need: the case receipt number.  This is a unique 13-character code consisting of three letters and ten subsequent numbers.  If you are not sure where your case receipt number is, look at the notices of action you have received by USCIS.  This number will appear on these notices.

On the case tracking portal, you will be prompted to enter this number.  When doing so, include all numbers, including asterisks if applicable, but omit all dashes, then hit the CHECK STATUS button.  From here, you will be able to view the status of your case and additional steps you will need to take.  If your contact information or address has changed since the time of filing, you will be prompted at this point to update this information to ensure streamlined communication regarding visa processing.

At this point, into FY2022, you are likely anxious to get the H-1B employee onboarded and to work.  There may still be RFEs standing in your way.  While RFE rates have dropped from previous cap-subject H-1B visa filing cycles, they are slowly creeping back up as second-round selections for this year’s lottery are being processed.  If you receive an RFE instead of approval, don’t panic.  This is not a rejection and can serve as an opportunity to strengthen your case.  Read over the RFE, then put it down and go back to the original H-1B eligibility requirements.  Then, cross-reference to see which requirements USCIS find evidence lacking in your case and provide additional evidence and documentation from there. 

If you have an education issue, a credential evaluation that fills in any gaps between the education the beneficiary has and the education USCIS will approve.  This may require a progressive work experience conversion in which three years of work experience in the field of the H-1B job wherein the beneficiary’s work took on greater complexity, specialization, and responsibility occurred indicating that education occurred on the job can be converted into one year of college credit in the major of the H-1B job. 

If you have a specialty occupation issue, an expert opinion letter written by an expert with extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job in positions of leadership in which they made hiring decisions regarding the position in question will lend weight to your case.  This letter will be based on the information you can provide to the expert regarding the specific position in question. 

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with difficult RFEs every year and we get them overturned.  We work with professors authorized to grant college credit for work experience available to write progressive work experience conversions.  Our international and domestic education experts write every credential evaluation uniquely, taking the job, education, work experience, visa requirements, and USCIS approval trends into account.  We work with experts in every H-1B field to write opinion letters to strengthen H-1B cases.  We know what triggers RFEs and we know how to successfully answer them.

Let us review your case for free.  Visit www.ccifree.com and we will respond in 4 hours or less with a free consultation. 

Sheila Danzig

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

For nearly the past decade, H-1B beneficiaries who earned their degree outside of the United States in an educational system with a three-year bachelor’s degree program have run into trouble.  Those holding Indian three-year bachelor’s degrees are hit the hardest and most consistently. 

Even though there are equal if not more classroom contact hours in an Indian three-year degree as a US four-year bachelor degree, USCIS adjudication is hung up on the missing fourth year of college.  If you, or if your employee or client is in this situation, the answer is a work experience conversion.

Here’s how it works:

Three years of progressive work experience can be converted into one year of college credit by a professor authorized to grant college credit for work experience.  Progressive work experience means the beneficiary can clearly show that education occurred on the job as evidence by promotions, having taken on increasingly complex duties and responsibilities, and that the nature of the work became increasingly specialized over the course of employment.  This conversion occurs in the context of a credential evaluation that clearly shows the academic value of the beneficiary’s education in terms of US academic standards. 

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with professors authorized to make this work experience conversion.  Each credential evaluation is written uniquely by our international education experts, taking the job, the education, the work experience, the visa, and USCIS approval trends into account.  This is what we do best, and we have seen overwhelming success with the approval strategy in both initial petitions and in answering education RFEs.

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 year, the H-1B lottery held two rounds to fill all 85,000 visa slots, regular and advanced degree caps.  That means those selected in round two are knee-deep in RFE season.  The Double RFE, which takes issue with both the occupation and the wage level is common amongst complex RFEs and is based on two incorrect assumptions on part of USCIS:

1. If a position is set at wage level one, that means it is entry-level.
2. If a position is entry-level, it does not meet specialty occupation requirements.

First, wage levels are set based on a multitude of factors, including work experience.  Recent college graduates need additional supervision and on-the-job training, necessitating a lower starting wage.  This does not mean the job is an entry-level position, or that the wage level is set incorrectly. 

Second, in most cases, if the job is entry level, it still normally requires a US bachelor’s degree or higher as a minimum educational requirement to be hired to the position.  In recent years, if the occupation entry in the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook states anything but the position always requires a US bachelor’s degree or higher as a minimum education requirement, USCIS is likely to issue an RFE. 

These issues often go hand-in-hand because if the wage level is set at wage level one, USCIS assumes the position is entry level, and then specialty occupation issues arise, or USCIS assumes the wage level is set incorrectly.  This creates a feedback loop that quickly escalates into a complex RFE.

Luckily, the answer is not as complex as the RFE itself.  First, you will need to provide the ad for the job and ads for the same job in similar companies showing the advanced degree minimum requirement.  Second, provide a detailed breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of the job highlighting the skills and knowledge acquired specifically through completion of a bachelor’s degree or higher program in the field of the H-1B job.  Third, provide an analysis of the factors that went into setting the wage level as it is.  Finally, include an expert opinion letter that addresses both wage level and specialty occupation issues written by an expert in the field of the H-1B job.  This expert must have at least ten years of experience working in the field of the H-1B job and have held positions of authority in which they made hiring decisions regarding the position in question.  This letter will be based on the information you have provided.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with experts in every H-1B field whose credentials USCIS will accept as lending weight to their opinion.  If you have received a Double RFE or another complex RFE, get our experts in your corner.

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.

Issues regarding education is a perennial problem H-1B beneficiaries face when it comes time to file.  This is because there are many educational pathways that highly skilled workers take to acquire the specialized knowledge and skill sets that their employers hire them for.   If the educational pathway is anything but a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the exact field of the H-1B job, USCIS is likely to answer the H-1B petition with an RFE instead of outright approval.

Common education situations that are likely to trigger approval issues:

• Degree earned outside the United States
• Three-year bachelor’s degree
• Generalized degree
• Degree with a major in a different field from the H-1B job
• Incomplete college
• No college
• Credential earned at an unaccredited institution.

To address these education issues in your H-1B petition or RFE response, it is essential to clearly show the US academic value of the beneficiary’s educational pathway is the equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the field of the H-1B job.  The most effective strategy to accomplish this is with a detailed credential evaluation that includes a progressive work experience conversion.

What is a progressive work experience conversion?  Progressive work experience happens when it can be shown that education occurred on the job.  This is work experience where the beneficiary can show the nature of their work became more complex and specialized over time, indicating that specialized education occurred on the job.  Three years of this kind of work experience can be converted into one year of college credit in the major of the field of the job.  A professor authorized to grant college credit for work experience can write this conversion to account for missing years of education or show the equivalency of the degree in the matching major.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we work with authorized professors to write each credential evaluation uniquely to fit the job, the education, the visa, and USCIS approval trends.  We work with difficult education RFEs every year.  We know how to prevent them, and we know how to answer them.

Let us review your petition or RFE for free before you file to check for education issues and advise solutions.  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.

Complex RFEs can cause employment start date delays which throw a wrench in overall company workflow.  In recent years, we have seen as many as three rounds of RFEs before visa approval.  If your registration was selected for the second round of the H-1B lottery, it is essential to get that visa approved the FIRST time to ensure an on-time employee start date.

General Housekeeping

Before you file, make sure your completed petition has been double-checked for consistent answers across all forms and supporting evidence and documentation, including employment dates on resumes and correct spelling.  Make sure that the petition organized and readable with everything included in the correct order.

Employer-Employee Relationship

If the H-1B employee will be working at a third-party worksite for any portion of the H-1B visa period, include added evidence to prove that the employer-employee relationship will be maintained throughout.  If the business is a consulting firm or other structure with workflow dependent on client or customer contracts, include an itinerary of the work the H-1B employee will be performing for the duration of the H-1B visa period including client and customer contact information.

Education

H-1B eligibility requirements state that the beneficiary must hold a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its academic equivalent in a related field, and USCIS has been approving visas based on the degree specialization being an exact match for the field of the H-1B job.  If the degree is in a different specialization, incomplete, or earned outside of the United States, include a detailed credential evaluation that shows the beneficiary has the academic equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the field of the H-1B job.  This may entail a work experience conversion wherein three years of progressive work experience in the field of the H-1B job can be converted into one year of college credit in that field by a professor with the authority to grant college credit for work experience.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we write every evaluation uniquely to take the education, work experience, job, visa, and USCIS approval trends into account.  We work with professors with the authority to write work experience conversions as needed.

Specialty Occupation

H-1B eligibility requirements state that the proffered position must normally require a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent as a minimum educational requirement for being hired to the position.  However, USCIS has been adjudicating “normally” as “always,” so jobs that do not ALWAYS have this minimum degree requirement according to the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook have been running into trouble.  If this is the case for your situation, you will need to prove one or more of the following:

1. The position in question is uniquely specialized to require minimum attainment of a bachelor’s degree or higher in the field of the H-1B job.  Again, a related field will not work for USCIS approval trends.
2. The employer can show past hiring practices of this minimum educational qualification for the position in question.
3. It is an industry standard that this position requires a bachelor’s degree or higher minimum educational qualification.

This will require additional documentation including the ad for the job and ads for the same position for different companies within the industry to prove industry standard.  Additionally, include evidence of past hiring practices and a detailed breakdown of the specialized duties and responsibilities of the job which are attained through completion of a US bachelor’s degree program in the field.  Finally, include an expert opinion letter written by an expert in the field of the H-1B job with extensive experience working in the field, including leadership positions and experience making hiring decisions regarding the proffered position.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with experts in every field ready to lend their professional opinion to your case. 

Before you file, make sure all red flags and areas of weakness in your case are identified and addressed to ensure approval and avoid time-consuming, stressful, and costly RFEs. 

Let us review your case for free.  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 the H-1B lottery has been conducted as a two-step process, with an initial electronic registration and subsequent selection and invitation to submit completed petitions.  On March 30^th 2021, USCIS conducted the first lottery, selecting 87,500 registrations to fill 85,000 H-1B visa slots.  Applicants in the first round had until June 30^th, 2021 to submit.  Only 37,000 did so, and around 48% of those submission were for the US Master’s quota, not the regular cap.

On July 29^th, 2021, USCIS selected 27,717 additional registrations to submit completed petitions starting August 2^nd until November 3, 2021.  If your team’s registration was selected in round two, there is no reason to wait until the last minute to submit and delay the employee start date for FY 2022, especially since RFEs are still a major hurdle facing petitioners and their beneficiaries.

Before you file, make sure you have an airtight petition that meets all H-1B eligibility requirements and takes USCIS approval trends into account:

• Degrees earned outside of the United States, three-year bachelor’s degrees, incomplete college, missing college, and degrees earned in specializations that are not an exact fit for the H-1B job field all need credential evaluations to fill in the gaps between the education the beneficiary has and the education USCIS will approve.  This means a unique evaluation that takes progressive work experience into account to be converted into college credit.

• If the job does not ALWAYS require a US bachelor’s degree or higher to perform, include additional evidence as to why this particular position for this particular employer meets specialty occupation requirements.  This must include an expert opinion letter written by an expert with extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job, and preferably has experience making hiring decisions regarding the position in question.

• If the job is for a consulting firm, or another business structure that contracts work from third parties, or entails the H-1B employee spending time at third-party worksites, include a complete itinerary of the work the H-1B employee will be performing – including client and customer contact information – for the duration of the H-1B visa period.  Document how the employer will be able to control the work of the H-1B employee even at third-party worksites.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we work with difficult RFE cases every year, and these are the three main triggers for complex RFEs that quickly escalate into a big, expensive, time-consuming headache.  The best way to address RFE issues is to prevent them in the first place.  Let us review your case for free before you file to identify areas of weakness and advise solutions.

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.

In a normal year, there are 140,000 Employment-Based Green Cards available.  However, 2020 was not a normal year and over 150,000 relatives of US citizens and green card holders were unable to immigrate because US Embassies abroad were closed due to the pandemic.  Ever year, there is a 226,000 family-based green card quota.  If this is not reached, these remaining number rolls over into employment-based green cards available for the following year.  That means, starting October 1, 2021, there will be over 290,000 employment-based green cards available, more than doubling what is available in a normal year.

This is great news for employers and foreign employees.  Employment based green card holders have permanent resident status.  They can travel freely both within and outside of the United States, their spouses and unmarried children under 21 are eligible to work in the United States, and their children can access the US school system.

Employment based green cards break down into five preference sections:

USCIS defines EB-1 workers as those with, “extraordinary abilities in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; Outstanding professors and researchers; or Certain multinational managers and executives.

EB-2 workers are professionals that work jobs that require attainment of a US Master’s degree or higher or its equivalent or have a National Interest Waiver, and EB-3 workers are skilled, unskilled, or other professionals.  EB-4 and EB-5 are less common categories.  EB-4 includes a variety of special immigrants, and EB-5 are immigrant investors.

If you or if your employee or client meets Employment Based Green Card eligibility requirements, this is the year to apply. 

For a free review of your case visit www.ccifree.com before you file.  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.