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Expert opinion letters have proven the most effective strategy to prevent and answer specialty occupation and wage level H-1B RFEs.  However, USCIS will not accept just any expert opinion letter as credible.  What goes into the RIGHT expert opinion letter requires the right kind of expert and as much information as the petitioner can provide them.

Choose the RIGHT Expert

USCIS will only give weight to expert opinion letters written by those who have extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job.  Instructors without field experience will not cut it.  The expert should have recognition in the field and have held positions of leadership wherein they had to make hiring decisions regarding the H-1B position in question and supporting positions.  This gives credibility to their opinion about the minimum qualifications necessary to fulfill the roles and responsibilities of the position, and about how wage levels for the position are set. 

Give the Expert the Information Needed to Write the RIGHT Letter

Once you find the right expert to write the opinion letter, the letter itself will only be as good as the information you provide.  This means providing information about the employer, a detailed breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of the H-1B position, past hiring practices, and the beneficiary’s educational background.  The more information you can provide the expert the better the opinion letter will be.  The expert needs to be able to explain how the wage level was set, and how specialized skills learned through the indicated degree program apply to the precise duties and responsibilities of the H-1B job.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with the RIGHT kind of experts in all H-1B fields.  We can help you gather the evidence and documentation needed for a strong expert opinion letter and identify areas of weakness in your case to address.

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.

Last year, USCIS introduced the electronic filing process where H-1B petitioners file a short, electronic application with basic information about the business and the beneficiaries along with a $10 fee.  If selected, the petitioner would have 90 days to complete and submit the full petition.  This process will continue this year and expected to be the new normal.  However, along with this change come two others that will significantly impact the H-1B visa program.

1. Regular cap petitions will be selected first, followed by the advanced degree exception selections.  Reversing this process gives petitioners with advanced degrees a higher chance of being selected.

2. The petition selection process will prioritize higher wages.  This will be the case for both the regular cap and the advanced degree exception.  This means no more randomized lottery.  Selections will be made to prioritize advanced degrees and high-paid workers. 

These rules will only impact cap-subject H-1B petitioners, and they may not last through the change of presidential administrations.  They are also vulnerable to challenge in court.  We hope that these two changes don’t survive long enough to impact the H-1B program, STEM industries, and the US academic system in the damaging ways they threaten to.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we will continue to follow any new rules that will impact the H-1B cap-subject filing process for FY2022.  We anticipate high levels of RFEs again this season as the general trend throughout the exiting administration has been to restrict the H-1B visa program.

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.

With new rules going into effect that may or may not last until the H-1B cap-subject filing season, it is more important than ever for H-1B applicants to take precautionary measures to prevent RFEs.

Over the past few years, we have seen up to three rounds of RFEs before visa approval.  This has caused H-1B employees to miss their work start dates and delay the sponsor’s workflow.  To prevent this, it is essential to make sure it is absolutely clear to USCIS that the beneficiary, the job, the education, and the terms of employment are in strict alignment with H-1B eligibility requirements.

Include an expert opinion letter.

An expert opinion letter written by a professional with extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job and making hiring decisions can fortify wage level and specialty occupation aspects of the case.  It is essential to explain why the wage level is set appropriately, and why the H-1B job meets specialty occupation requirements – meaning a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree is required for entry into the position.

Include a credential evaluation.

If the beneficiary’s degree was earned outside of the United States – especially if it is a three-year bachelor’s degree – you will need to include a credential evaluation to translate its academic value into US educational standards.  If the degree is in a major that is not an EXACT match for the H-1B job, a credential evaluation that shows the beneficiary has the educational experience equivalent of the needed degree in the exact field of the H-1B job is needed.  If the beneficiary has no college, incomplete college, or a degree from an unaccredited institution, a credential evaluation is needed to convert years of progressive work experience into years of college credit in the major of the H-1B job. 

Include a complete itinerary of the work to be performed for the duration of the visa.

H-1B employees who will be working at third-party worksites or working for a consulting firm will need to show that there will be work throughout the visa duration, and that the employer will be able to control this work.  Include a schedule of the work to be performed, along with client names and contact information.  Include a copy of the employee contract along with an explanation of how the employer will control the work of the H-1B employee even when working offsite.

When USCIS finds one problem with a case, they tend to find more which snowballs into difficult RFEs that are virtually impossible to answer by their own guidelines.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with difficult RFEs every year.  We know what triggers them, and we know how to prevent them.  Let us look at your case before you file to fill in any gaps between the petition and visa approval.

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 easiest way to address an education RFE is to avoid one in the first place.  If you are, or if your employee or client is applying for H-1B visa status, here are three circumstances in which an credential evaluation is essential to preempt any education issues on the road to visa approval:

1. Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree

If the H-1B worker has a three-year bachelor’s degree a credential evaluation is needed to account for the missing fourth year.  This is even the case if the three-year program had the same or greater classroom contact hours than a traditional US four-year program.  A work experience conversion where three years of work experience in the field of the H-1B job is converted into one year of college credit in that degree specialization is needed to account for the missing fourth year.  This conversion can be completed by a professor authorized to grant college credit for work experience.

2. Degree Earned Outside of the United States

An academic credential evaluation must be written to clearly show USCIS what this foreign degree means in terms of US educational standards.  Sometimes the evaluation is straightforward.  Sometimes, a work experience conversion, a close examination of course content, or citing precedent decisions and federal caselaw is needed.

3. Mismatched Degree Specialization

For over five years, USCIS has been issuing education RFEs if the degree specialization is not an exact match for the H-1B job, even if it is in a related field.  This is a problem because employers will hire workers with degrees in related specializations, but then USCIS will not approve their visas.  To address this issue, a detailed credential evaluation is needed to write the equivalent of the required degree in the exact specialization of the H-1B job.  This requires a close look at course content, additional training and education in the field, and often a work experience conversion.

All of these situations require an academic credential evaluation written uniquely to address the beneficiary, the visa, the job, the education, and USCIS approval trends.  Even if the H-1B beneficiary has no college, incomplete college, or a degree from an unaccredited institution, the right evaluation can show how their non-traditional pathway through education has qualified them for the H-1B job in terms of US academic standards.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, all of our credential evaluations are written uniquely by expert evaluators.  We work with professors who have the authority to make work experience conversions.

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.

US District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton upheld the STEM OPT program by the Department of Homeland Security in a lawsuit brought against the department by the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers.  This ruling upheld that foreign graduates of accredited US academic institutions with STEM degrees work in the United States for up to three years post-graduation.

This ruling comes with some history and some unlikely characters.  In 2008, DHS enacted the STEM OPT rule which allowed OPT workers with STEM degrees to apply for an additional 17 months of OPT.  The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers sued claiming that this rule exceeded the department’s authority.  The courts upheld the rule but declared that DHS did not meet obligations for notice and comment before codifying the rule.  Ultimately, this backfired from Washington Alliance because in 2016, DHS met notice and comment obligations when it proposed the current STEM OPT rule, which increased the extension to 24 months.

Again, the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers sued claiming the rule exceeded the authority of DHS.  Who came out in defense of the rule?  The National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the Information Technology Industry Council gave their input that the extension program is beneficial to the country’s STEM industries, education system, and economy.  An unlikely suspect – the Trump Administration – also came out in support of the STEM OPT extension.

While the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers is not expected to back down, this is good news for STEM OPT program applicants and the employers that hire them.  To apply for a STEM OPT extension, applicants must be in a valid period of OPT and have earned at least a bachelor’s degree in a STEM specialization from a US Department of Education-recognized accredited academic institution.  Practical training must be directly related to the STEM degree and the employer must meet specific requirements and responsibilities, including the training obligation.

If you are currently in OPT for a non-STEM degree but have earned a STEM degree in the United States, you may still be eligible for the STEM OPT extension, provided that the STEM OPT job is directly related to the STEM degree. 

If you, or if your employee or client is having OPT or STEM OPT issues, 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.

Every year, USCIS rolls out more monster RFEs that are impossible to answer by their own guidelines.  This includes the Nightmare RFE that has everything and its mailman in it and the Triple Threat RFE that calls wage level, specialty occupation, and education into question.  What happens when these two are wrapped up in one?

This nightmare of all nightmare RFEs is a panic attack.  However, the two together is not much different than one or the other.  Since the Nightmare RFE is virtually impossible to answer by its own directions in the timeline provided, a different approach is required, one that addresses all three issues tied in with the Triple Threat.

The key is to put the RFE down and go back to the original H-1B eligibility requirements and work from there.  Make sure that all criteria are met with added evidence and documentation.  If there are multiple ways to meet a requirement – like the specialty occupation requirement – pick two.  Include a credential evaluation filling in any gaps between the beneficiary’s degree and the specific advanced degree required for the position AND the visa.  Include an expert opinion letter covering specialty occupation and wage level issues.  Document the employer-employee relationship, especially if the position is at a consulting firm and ESPECIALLY if the H-1B employee will spend time at third party worksites.  You need to show how the employer will be able to control the work of the H-1B employee even offsite.  Include a complete itinerary of the H-1B employee’s work including contract contacts for the duration of the three-year H-1B visa period.  Make sure all answers are consistent across documents. 

The burden of proof on the petitioner has dramatically increased since 2017.  We are here to help.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with monster RFEs every year with a 96% success rate. 

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.

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 submit a completed petition.  Also like this past year, the 20,000 advanced degree visa registrations will be selected first in a randomized lottery and those not chosen will get a second chance in the regular pool.  This gives beneficiaries with advanced credentials a higher chance of being selected for an H-1B visa.  Now, the Department of Homeland Security proposes to take it a step further, doing away with the randomized lottery for the upcoming H-1B filing season.

On November 2, 2020, DHS proposed the rule, “Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions.”   The comment period extends to December 2, 2020.

The background of this proposed rule stems from the 2017 Executive Order 13788 directing DHS and other agencies to, “suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.” 

To follow this directive, this new rule generally selects “registrations based on the highest Occupational Employment Statistic (OES) prevailing wage level so that the proffered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code and area(s) of intended employment.”

The reasoning DHS gives for doing away with the randomized lottery by generally selecting petitions for beneficiaries with the highest wage levels is as follows:

“A random lottery system is reasonable, but inconsiderate of Congress’s statutory purposes for the H-1B program and its administration.  Instead, a registration based on wage level within each cap would increase the average median wage levels of H-1B beneficiaries who would be selected for further processing under the H-1B allocations.  Moreover, it would maximize H-1B cap allocations so that they would more likely go to the best and brightest workers.”

However, this proposed rule ignores a central pillar of the H-1B program, which is to attract the brightest students from abroad to come to the United States for college by offering them an avenue for specialty occupation employment following graduation.  These jobs tend to be low-wage due to lack of work experience.  This new rule may also discriminate against small companies and petitioners based in geographical locations with generally lower wage levels.

If this proposed rule goes into effect, this may significantly change the way H-1B employers make hiring decisions regarding H-1B positions, set wage levels, and determine which jobs require advanced degrees.  We expect RFEs regarding wage level and specialty occupation issues to come back in full swing, and we anticipate education issues especially regarding advanced degree equivalencies. 

We are monitoring the situation closely and are dedicated to keeping our clients and community informed and developing creative solutions.  This new rule will be vulnerable to challenge in the court system and could very well be reversed or otherwise changed when the Biden Administration takes office.  In the meantime, let us review your case for viability and to see where adjustments can be made to enhance your petition’s odds of approval.

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.

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.

The trick to answering these difficult RFEs is to go back to the basics and build your case from there.  This can be done in two steps. 

First, include an expert opinion letter written by a professional in the industry of the H-1B job.  This expert must have extensive experience working in the field of the job and making hiring decisions to the position in question and similar positions.  This letter can cover wage level and specialty occupation issues.  Provide the expert as much information as possible about the specific duties and responsibilities of the job, and how the skills and knowledge required are acquired through completion of a bachelor’s degree in the field of the H-1B job.  Also provide the expert with a breakdown of the factors that went into setting the wage level, and documentation of past hiring practices and starting wages that fortify specialty occupation and wage level issues.  The more information you can provide the expert, the better equipped they will be to write a compelling letter that covers both specialty occupation and wage level issues.

Second, include a credential evaluation that takes the job, the beneficiary’s education and work experience, visa requirements, and USCIS approval trends into account.  This evaluation must be uniquely written to fill in any gaps between the education the beneficiary has, and a US bachelor’s degree (or higher, if required by the job) in the exact field of the H-1B job.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we work with experts in all H-1B fields that have the credentials required for USCIS to accept their opinion.  Our credential evaluators research every evaluation uniquely and tailor it to meet each client’s situation.  With an expert opinion letter and a detailed credential evaluation, and supporting documentation, we have seen a 96% success rate in overturning these difficult 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.

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 adjudicating H-1B visa petitions for years now.  The degree must be an exact match for the H-1B job. 

Employers often hire qualified employees with degrees in related majors.  Employers often hire qualified employees with incomplete college, no college, or generalized degrees who instead have years of work experience in the field of the H-1B job.  Employers often hire qualified H-1B employees with degrees in a matching or related specialization earned outside of the United States.  All of these cases require the petitioner to clearly show the equivalency to the correct degree (a US bachelor’s degree or higher) in the exact specialization of the H-1B job through specific course content and work experience.

The way to do this is to include a detailed credential evaluation that fills in any gaps between the degree the beneficiary has and the degree the beneficiary needs for visa approval.  This will take the job, the education, work experience, H-1B requirements, and USCIS approval trends into account.  It often requires a work experience conversion in which three years of progressive work experience in the field of the H-1B job can be converted into one year of college credit in the major of the industry.  This conversion must be written by a professor with the authority to grant college credit for work experience.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, every credential evaluation is research and written uniquely.  There are no cookie cutter evaluations.  We work with professors with the authority to grant work experience for college credit to write the evaluations our clients need to get their visas approved. 

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.

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 and beneficiaries making level one wages are hit the hardest.  Computer programmers have been particularly vulnerable to this RFE as well. 

Here is the reasoning for this RFE: 

USCIS makes the wrong assumption that because a job is set at level one wages it is an entry level position.  Then, if the entry-level position for the H-1B job does not ALWAYS require a US bachelor’s degree or higher for entry they assume that the job is not a specialty occupation or the wage level is not set at the prevailing wage for the job.  Of course, USCIS does not pick either or for the RFE; they choose both.

Luckily, you can answer both with one expert opinion letter.  The expert must have extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job and have experience making hiring decisions regarding this position and similar positions.  This expert must have a full understanding of the industry and be able to articulate the skills required for this position and how they are obtained through the completion of at least a bachelor’s program.  This expert must also articulate how wage level decisions are made.  The more information the petitioner can provide about the job and the factors that went into determining the wage level for this specific employee the better. 

To answer this RFE, you must show that the wage level was set appropriately for the position and the employee.  This could mean a reduced wage level because college education was recently completed but actual work experience in the field is minimal or non-existent.  You must also show that one of four specialty occupation requirements are met:

1. A US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent in the field of the specialty occupation is a minimum requirement for the position.
2. A US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent in the field of the specialty occupation is the minimum requirement for parallel positions at similar companies in the industry.
3. The employer has a documented past practice of requiring an employee hired to this position to hold a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent.
4. This particular position is uniquely specialized as to require the employee to hold a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent to perform its duties.

This requires a detailed breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of the job, the skills required to perform them, and how these skills are learned through attainment of a US bachelor’s degree in the field of the H-1B job.  We recommend choosing two of these requirements, one of them being the fourth option that show how this position is uniquely specialized in and of itself.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with the RIGHT kind of experts in every H-1B field who can write opinion letters that address both wage level and specialty occupation issues in one letter. 

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.