The rate of H-1B petitions receiving an RFE instead of outright approval has skyrocketed to 60%. That means if you, or your employee or client filed an H-1B petition back in April and made the lottery, they most likely received an RFE. Of those 60% who received RFEs, just 60% of those RFEs are overturned and the visas are approved.
These are not great odds, but there are steps you can take to ensure you, or your employee or client has the best chance of getting into that 60% of RFEs turned into visa approvals.
Here’s how:
First, go back to the basics. USCIS requires that the H-1B worker holds a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the exact field of the H-1B job. The H-1B job must require a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree or higher to perform. This could either be an industry standard or a unique situation as evidenced by the high degree of complexity of this job and past employer hiring practices. There must be an employer-employee relationship in which the employer can hire, fire, and otherwise control the work the H-1B employee performs, and the H-1B employee must make the prevailing wage for the job in that geographical location for companies of that size.
Second, sit down with your team and read the RFE carefully. Try not to get too bogged down in the demands made by the verbiage of the RFE as many complex RFEs are virtually impossible to answer by their own instructions.
Third, put the RFE down and determine which of the original H-1B eligibility requirements USCIS took issue with your case, or your employee or client’s case. In which areas is your case, or your employee or client’s case lacking, and what evidence and documentation is needed to fill in the gaps?
Specialty occupation issues tend to go hand in hand with wage level issues. Both can be addressed with an expert opinion letter written by an expert in the field of the H-1B job who has extensive field experience beyond just teaching in the field. This letter is only as good as the evidence you provide the expert detailing the practical and theoretical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and skill necessitated by the day-to-day duties and responsibilities of the job. You will also have to provide evidence of industry or company hiring standard. You will also have to detail what factors went into setting the wage level as it is.
Education issues can be addressed with the right credential evaluation. Common education issues arise when an employee has a degree in a field other than the exact field of the H-1B job, a generalized degree, incomplete college, no college, or a degree earned in another country. In all of these instances, the right credential evaluation that takes the job, education completed, and the H-1B beneficiary’s work experience into consideration, along with H-1B education regulations and USCIS approval trends.
At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we work with difficult RFEs with a 90% and higher rate of success. We work with experts in all H-1B fields and all of our credential evaluations are uniquely researched and written to address the situation. Don’t take chances with answering an RFE. Visit ccifree.com/ for a free review of your case, or your employee or client’s case. We will get back to you in 48 hours or less.