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The secret is out.  Career and vocational colleges offer an affordable alternative to four-year universities and colleges.  These educational paths also offer a streamlined education to employment pipeline, with instructors who are also field professionals and skills training directly applicable to the workforce students will soon enter.  It’s not just US nationals who are making […]

On May 3, 2023, Utah State Law SB35 took effect, giving foreign professionals who have earned a range of professional licenses outside of the United States the opportunity to be licensed and practice in the State.  This prevents internationally trained professionals from having to jump through regulatory hoops, repeat education and professional training, take redundant […]

Every year, qualified H-1B beneficiaries with Three-Year Bachelor’s degrees from India are hit with education RFEs.  USCIS requires that H-1B beneficiaries hold a US Bachelor’s degree or higher, which typically takes four years to complete.  While the Indian Three-Year Bachelor’s degree has the same or greater classroom contact hours as the US Four-Year Bachelor’s degree, […]

There are many educational pathways that lead to skill attainment.  Some of them are entirely academic. Some begin in college and then end in the workplace rather than with degree completion.  Some are entirely experiential.  However, USCIS needs to see the US academic equivalency to circuitous educational journeys. Last year, an H-1B beneficiary came to […]

The most common RFE reported by H-1B applicants has been Specialty Occupation issues.  However, this issue often arrives in tandem with Wage Level issues, creating the Double RFE.  Applicants for computer programmer jobs, entry level positions, and those making level one wages are at highest risk of this complex RFE. Here’s how it works: USCIS […]

Complex RFEs occur when USCIS finds one red flag in an H-1B petition, triggering a deeper scrutiny of the case.  This is when the chaos of USCIS approval trends kicks in and wreaks havoc on an otherwise unremarkable petition.  Instead of approval, or even a simple RFE, applicants are met with an RFE that calls […]

This is the second year of USCIS’ new two-step H-1B visa application process, and USCIS discovered a major issue.  Over 400 duplicate registrations were discovered in this year’s H-1B lottery.  This is when multiple employers file H-1B registrations for the same beneficiary for the same position.  In some cases, companies worked together to improve the […]

The best way to prevent or address education issue RFEs for H-1B petition filing is to include a credential evaluation that closes any gaps between the education the beneficiary has and the education USCIS will approve.  If any of the following situations apply to your case, you need a credential evaluation: An effective credential evaluation […]

H-1B beneficiaries with education credentials earned outside of the United States need to include a credential evaluation in their initial petition.  This document shows USCIS the educational value of the foreign credential in terms of US academic value.  Since possessing a bachelor’s degree or higher is a central eligibility requirement for this visa, it is […]