At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with difficult H-1B RFEs every year, and over the past two years, we have seen a disproportionate number of specialty occupation RFEs for jobs that have never before been called into question. This RFE and Denial trend was recently confirmed by the declassification of USCIS documents that fundamentally increased the burden of proof on the petitioner with no notice to the public.
These adjudication changes have no basis in changes to laws or regulations governing how H-1B visas can be approved or denied. While immigration attorneys are taking USCIS to court over illegal denials, we are doing our part to get these RFEs overturned, and the way we do it is with an expert opinion letter. The opinion of an expert in the field of the H-1B job as to whether or not the job meets specialty occupation requirements can successfully overturn an RFE, if these two crucial steps are followed:
1. Get the RIGHT expert.
USCIS accepts the opinion of some experts, but not others. The RIGHT expert is a professional with years of experience working directly in the field of the H-1B visa. If the expert has only instructed in the subject area but has limited or no field experience, USCIS will not accept that their credentials qualify them to write the opinion letter.
2. Provide the expert with as much documentation and detail as possible.
To prove the H-1B job is a specialty occupation, it must be clear that the job is so specialized and complex as to require the employee to hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or higher in the field of the specialization. This can either be shown to be an industry standard for the position, or that this position for this employer is uniquely specialized. To do this, you must provide a detailed job description outlining the specialized duties and responsibilities of the position, as well as proof of past hiring practices to show that the employer requires a bachelor-level degree in the field of the H-1B job as a minimum qualification to hire to the position in question. You will also need to provide the ad for the job, ads for the same position for similar companies in the industry and be sure that the job description is an accurate match for the occupation and soc code selected on O*Net. The more information you can provide to the expert, the better equipped they will be to write the opinion letter you need, or that your employee or client needs to get the RFE overturned. As such, the more documentation you can provide USCIS to support the expert opinion letter the better your chance of success.
At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with experts in every H-1B field, and all our experts have the extensive field experience USCIS requires to give weight to their opinion letter. We understand that when it comes to answering an RFE time is of the essence, and therefore we offer rush delivery options to suit your needs. For a free review of your case, visit ccifree.com/. We will get back to you in 48 hours or less.