CASE: H-1B Change of Employer

PETITIONER: Sensor Device Development Company

BENEFICIARY: Japanese Mechanical Engineer

LOCATION: Irvine, CA

Our client is a leading company in providing innovative sensors and health monitoring solutions to problems related to maintenance and safety of civil infrastructure and other structural / material systems. They contacted our office in early February 2016 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from Japan and obtained his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Principal Engineer which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had his H-1B visa from his previous employer.  However, his H-1B visa was not expired yet, and he wanted to extend his H-1B status on a change of employer basis.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on February 26, 2016 via premium processing service.  Since this petition was based on a change of employer, we argued that this petition was exempt from the annual cap of the H-1B.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on March 8, 2016.  The H-1B approval had the duration of March 2016 to March 2019. Now the Beneficiary can work for his Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and he can work there for next three years.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension

PETITIONER:  Korean Church in Virginia

BENEFICIARY: Korean Pastor

Our client is a Korean church in Virginia, serving the Korean community at a campus town. They contacted our office in late July of 2015 to seek legal assistance for its foreign beneficiary’s H-1B extension.

The beneficiary is Korean and obtained his Master of Divinity Degree in South Korea.  The proffered position for the Beneficiary was for a Pastor which we argued qualified as a specialty occupation. We argued that the minimum requirement for this position is a Master of Divinity Degree or its equivalent. He has been working for the Petitioner on a valid H-1B visa.

Once retained, our firm prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on August 21, 2015 via premium processing. Eventually, without any RFE, our client’s H-1B extension was approved on September 2, 2015. Now, the Beneficiary can continue to work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until September 20, 2018 (until his duration of H-1B status reaches the 6th year mark).

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  Metal Supply / Manufacturer

BENEFICIARY: Chinese Operations Development Associate in Cleveland, OH

Our client is a Metal Supplier / Manufacturer located in Cleveland, Ohio.  They contacted our office in early March of this year to seek legal assistance for a possible H-1B petition for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained her Master of Business Administration in the United States.  The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Operations Development Associate which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 31, 2015 via regular processing service. This H-1B petition was selected in the lottery. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on August 31, 2015.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: IT Consulting Company in Jacksonville, FL

BENEFICIARY: Indian Systems Analyst in India

Our client is an IT Consulting Company located in Jacksonville, FL.  They contacted our office in the middle of February this year to seek legal assistance for a possible H-1B petition for their potential foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in India. The Beneficiary is currently residing at India. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Systems Analyst which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 31, 2015 via regular processing. This H-1B petition was selected after the lottery.

Without any RFEs, our client’s H-1B petition was approved on August 17, 2015. Now, the beneficiary can apply for an H-1B visa at the U.S. Embassy in India, and upon the issuance of the visa, he can work for the Petitioner from October 1, 2015 for three years.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  Dental Clinic

BENEFICIARY: Korean Dentist in Cleveland, OH

Our client is a dental clinic located in Cleveland, Ohio.  They contacted our office in early March of this year to seek legal assistance for a possible H-1B petition for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained his Doctor of Dental Medicine in the United States. Moreover, he is a licensed dentist in the state of Ohio. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an associate dentist which clearly qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 31, 2015 via regular processing. This H-1B petition was selected in the lottery. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on July 21, 2015.

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CASE: H-1B Change of Employer

PETITIONER: Architectural Design Company

BENEFICIARY: Turkish Architect

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client is an architectural design firm headquartered in New York City. They contacted our office in March 2015 to seek assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from Turkey and she obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an architect which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had her H-1B from her previous employer which was in a similar industry.  Her H-1B status was not yet expired, and she wanted to extend her H-1B status on a change of employer basis.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 24, 2015 via regular processing.  Since this petition was based on a change of employer, this petition was exempt from the annual cap of the H-1B.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on May 25, 2015.  Now the Beneficiary can work for her Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and she can work there for the next three years.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension
PETITIONER:  Capital Investment Company in Georgia
BENEFICIARY: Lithuanian International Compliance Manager

Our client is a Capital Investment Company in Georgia which owns local and international travel clubs and sells memberships. They contacted our office in late March of 2015 to seek legal assistance for its foreign beneficiary’s H-1B extension..

The beneficiary is Lithuanian and obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in International Law in Lithuania. The proffered position for the Beneficiary was for an International Compliance Manager which we argued qualified as a specialty occupation. We proffered that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in International Law/Relations or its equivalent. She has been working for the Petitioner on a valid H-1B visa.

Once retained, our firm prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on April 9, 2015 via regular processing. Eventually, without any RFE, our client’s H-1B extension was approved on May 12, 2015. Now, the Beneficiary can continue to work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until December 7, 2016 (until her duration of H-1B status reaches the 6^th  year mark).

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CASE: H-1B Change of Employer / Re-capture and reclaim issues

PETITIONER: Software Development and IT Staffing Company

BENEFICIARY: Indian Computer Systems Analyst

LOCATION: Jacksonville, FL

Our client is a fast growing software developing and IT consulting company located in Jacksonville, FL. They contacted our office in August 2014 to seek assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from India and he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems.  The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Computer Systems Analyst which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had his H-1B from his previous employer which was in a similar industry.  However, he changed his status from H-1B to H-4 after his employment was terminated with his previous employer. Nevertheless, his previous H-1B was valid until September 2016 so our office argued that his unused H-1B time can be recaptured and his H-1B petition can be filed under a change of employer basis which means no cap limitation.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on August 27, 2014 via regular processing. However, the USCIS mailed a Request for Evidence to the Petitioner-Employer and requested Petitioner to submit additional evidence to establish that the proffered position to the beneficiary qualified as a “Specialty Occupation” on October 24, 2014, plus additional questions about the “in-house” nature of the employment.

We gathered supporting documents from both the Petitioner and Beneficiary and did research on the industry, focusing on similarly sized businesses, to demonstrate that a bachelor’s degree is commonly required for this position. We also provided in-house employment proof.

In the response brief, our office argued that the degree requirement is common to this industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.  We provided evidence that the position of Systems Analyst or Computer Systems Analyst is a common position required by similarly sized IT consulting companies.  Also, we provided evidence that Petitioner’s competitors normally require degrees in a specific specialty for closely related positions like that of Systems Analyst.  Moreover, our office asserted that the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty. Other documents pertaining to an in-house project was also submitted.

Our office filed a detailed Response to RFE brief with many exhibits to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on January 13, 2015.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on February 11, 2015.

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CASE: H-1B Extension

PETITIONER:  Environmental Engineering Consulting Company

BENEFICIARY: Indian Principal Consulting Environmental / Water Engineer

Our client is an Environmental Engineering Consulting Company in Fairfax, VA. They contacted our office in October 2014 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B Extension.  The beneficiary is from India and obtained his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s Degree in Civil / Environmental Engineering. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Principal Consulting Environmental / Water Engineer which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.  He has been working for the Petitioner on a valid H-1B visa. The beneficiary already used his H-1B status for 6 years, but he is entitled to get a 3 year extension since he has an approved I-140 petition for him.

After retention, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on October 21, 2014 via regular processing. Eventually, without any RFE, our client’s H-1B extension was approved on November 24, 2014. Now the Beneficiary can continue for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until December 31, 2017.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: IT Consulting Company in New Jersey

BENEFICIARY: Indian Systems Analyst in India

Our client is an IT Consulting Company located in New Jersey.  They contacted our office in early July of this year to seek legal assistance for possible H-1B petitions for a prospective foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in India.  The proffered position for the Beneficiary was a Systems Analyst which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation. The beneficiary had an H-1B before and he started to work for his previous employer in 2007, but his employment was terminated though in August 2007 when he left for India 3 weeks from the initial H-1B date. His previous H-1B was valid until April 10, 2010 so our office argued that his unused H-1b time can be recaptured and his H-1B petition can be under a change of employer basis which means no cap limitation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B change of employer petition with various supporting documents on July 10, 2014 via regular processing. However, the USCIS mailed a Request for Evidence to the Petitioner-Employer and requested Petitioner to submit additional evidence to establish that the proffered position to the beneficiary qualified as a “Specialty Occupation” on September 15, 2014, plus additional questions about the “in-house” nature of the employment.

We gathered supporting documents from both the Petitioner and Beneficiary and did research on the industry, focusing on similarly sized businesses, to demonstrate that a bachelor’s degree is commonly required for this position. We also provided in-house employment proof.

In the response brief, our office argued that the degree requirement is common to this industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.  We provided evidence that the position of Systems Analyst or Computer Systems Analyst is a common position required by similarly sized IT consulting company.  Also, we provided evidence that Petitioner’s competitors normally require degrees in a specific specialty for closely related positions like that of Systems Analyst.  Moreover, our office asserted that the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty. Other documents pertaining to an in-house project was also submitted.

Our office filed a detailed Response to RFE brief with many exhibits to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on October 17, 2014.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on November 10, 2014. Now, the beneficiary can apply for an H-1B visa at the U.S. Embassy in India, and upon the issuance of visa, he can work for the Petitioner.

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