USCIS just announced that submissions to be entered into the electronic H-1B lottery will take place between March 1st and March 20th, 2020. The submission fee is $10, and a completed petition is not required.
Applicants selected will have 90 days to complete the filing. If you, or if your employee or client is selected for adjudication for the cap-subject H-1B visas, you will need to be ready. Over the past few years, specialty occupation, employer-employee relationship, and wage level issues have become common RFEs (and common second rounds of RFEs), even for cases with jobs that have historically never run into issues. At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we have seen the best route to success in preventing and answering these RFEs is with an expert opinion letter.
There are three aspects to the right expert opinion letter:
1. It must cover all areas of issue. One letter can address all three issues at hand as they tend to be related, and one indicates the others may arise in a second round of RFEs.
2. You must provide a detailed breakdown of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of the job, along with how theoretical and practical application of specific skills and knowledge that attainment of which is associated with having earned a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent is applied on the job. You must also provide the ad for the job along with ads for the same job in similar companies to show the minimum educational requirement as an industry standard, as well as proof of past hiring practices, an analysis of the factors that went into setting the wage level, and an itinerary of the H-1B employee’s work for the duration of the H-1B visa. This is a lot, and yes, the burden of proof on the petitioner has increased dramatically since the enaction of the 2017 executive order “Buy American and Hire American,” and yes, USCIS has been sued over changes made to the adjudication process without having basis in any regulatory changes. This is the reality of what H-1B beneficiaries are now up against. The more information you can provide the expert and USCIS, the better.
3. The expert must have extensive experience working in the field of the H-1B job, including having held many positions within the field and been involved in hiring candidates to the position of the H-1B visa. Being an instructor in the field does not cut it for USCIS to take their opinion seriously. This expert must have extensive field experience.
At TheDegreePeople.com, we work with the right kind of expert in every field. They are on call 24/7 to write the opinion letter you need, or your employee or client needs to prevent or answer an H-1B RFE. We will work with you to determine what information you will need to provide the expert and consult with you on your case to make sure all of your bases are covered.
For a free review of your case and consultation, visit ccifree.com. We will get back to you in 48 hours or less.