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h1b specialty occupation rfe

How to Prevent a 2nd Round of H1B RFEs with Your First Answer

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

The trick is to provide evidence to support all aspects of H1B requirements in the first answer, even if the RFE didn’t specifically ask for it. Just meeting the evidence requests in the first RFE may seem daunting enough without the addition of having to preempt a second round, but trust me, it’s worth it. It will save you a lot of time, money, and headache later on.

At TheDegreePeople, we review each client’s entire case and make sure all of the bases are covered. H1B elligibility means the beneficiary is working a specialty occupation that requires a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree or its equivalent as a minimum qualification to be hired. The beneficiary must hold the required degree in the exact field of the specialty occupation. The employer must pay the employee the prevailing wage for that job in that field for companies of that size in that geographic location, and the employer must be able to hire, fire, promote, supervise, and otherwise control the work the employee does.

For H1B employees working at third-party consulting firms, you must show that there are projects lined up for the employee to perform over the course of their H1B status.

We review each case and the associated RFE and make sure to address any discrepancies between the requirements and the petition. That means addressing why the wage level is set as it is, why the job requires an advanced degree, and addressing the education situation. If you or your employee or client has a degree in a different field – even if it’s related – or a degree from outside of the US or never completed a bachelor’s degree, you will need to include a credential evaluation that closes the gaps between your education, or your employee or client’s education and H1B educational requirements.

For a free review of your case, visit ccifree.com.  We will get back to you in 48 hours or less with our analysis of your case and our recommendations.

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H1B Support: How to Answer a Wage Level RFE Plus Specialty Occupation

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

When CIS finds one problem with an H1B petition, they tend to find more. This year’s RFE trend we are seeing is wage level issues and specialty occupation issues going hand in hand to form a very difficult RFE to answer.

Here’s how it works:

CIS uses the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook to reference each job in question. First, the actual job description is rarely an exact match for the entry, which CIS can use to justify the RFE. Second, often wage levels differ from the degree and experience level indicated in the entry because of the particular circumstances of the job. Third, sometimes the entry will include that not all employers require an advanced degree to perform the job.

These are three major triggers of this double RFE. To answer it, you need to be able to provide detailed evidence that the job in question requires an advanced degree as a minimum requirement to perform. This must include a detailed breakdown of the duties, tasks, and responsibilities of the job. You will also need to provide evidence that past hiring practices show that the employer typically requires an advanced degree when hiring or this position. Include the ad for the job and ads for the same job in the industry in similar companies to show that an advanced degree is an industry standard minimum requirement.

You will also need to thoroughly explain all of the factors that went into setting the wage level. To tie it all together, you will need an expert opinion letter that covers both wage level and specialty occupation issues.

At TheDegreePeople we work with difficult RFEs every year. Last year, our experts had the highest rate of success in writing the opinion letters that get these RFEs overturned. We also take steps to prevent a second round of RFEs when answering the first. For a free review of your case visit ccifree.com/.  We will get back to you in 48 hours or less.

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H1B Specialty Occupation RFEs: How to Prove Specialization

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

A common RFE we see every year is the Specialty Occupation RFE. Last year, we saw an unprecedented number of RFEs that brought up this issue pertaining to computer programmers making level 1 wages, but this issue can affect any H1B job.

To qualify for H1B status, a job must require a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree or its equivalent to gain entry into the occupation. When determining whether a job meets this requirement, CIS references the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook to see what the general industry requirements are for the job at that wage level.

There are several problems that may arise to trigger a specialty occupation RFE here:

  1. While it is not an overall industry standard, this particular job is so uniquely complex that it requires an advanced degree.
  2. Some employers will hire employees for this position without a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree under specific circumstances even though having an advanced degree is an industry requirement.
  3. The wage level set for this particular job is misleading. This was the case with computer programmers making level 1 wages that set off the string of RFEs last season. Just because a job is set at level 1 wages doesn’t mean it’s an entry level position – there are many factors that go into determining wage levels.

If you, or your employee or client receives a Specialty Occupation RFE, make sure to thoroughly read the passage from the Occupational Outlook Handbook about your client’s job to see if the discrepancy that triggered the RFE is in the text. Then, you will need to provide evidence that this job requires an advanced degree. Evidence includes the ad for the job and ads for the same job in similar companies with in the industry that shows the degree requirements. You can also include evidence that the employer in question has a consistent history of hiring employees to this position with this advanced degree as a minimum requirement.

In addition to this evidence, you will also need an expert opinion letter that backs up the evidence provided. At TheDegreePeople, we work with experts who have the highest rate of success in answering Specialty Occupation RFEs. For a free review of your case, visit ccifree.com We have experts on hand to help you 24/7.

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