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Alert: Requests for Additional Evidence for H-1B Petitions

by | Sep 6, 2017 | Agencies (CBP, DHS, DOL, DOS, USCIS, ICE), H-1B/H-4, Immigration

Imagine winning a coveted lottery. You are over the moon… and then someone threatens to take your deserved, well-documented, and legally required win away.

This is what is happening to many employers and foreign nationals that were fortunate to be selected under the H-1B lottery petitions – now, USCIS has been widely using Requests for Additional Evidence (RFE) and Notices of Intent to Deny on thousands of those petitions.

These types of policies don’t just impact these individuals and their employers, but also the U.S. economy at large.

There are over 300 examples of these RFEs. They have been issued in cases covering a wide array of occupations, including software developers, computer systems analysts, engineers (civil, mechanical, industrial, etc.), dentists, teachers, physicians, accountants, and auditors.

We are diligently and strategically working with our clients to respond to these unreasonable and unwarranted requests with strong legal arguments and evidence.

The new H-1B requests are arbitrary, capricious, and not based on sound law. Policies that restrict the admission of foreign highly skilled professionals will continue to harm the competitiveness of US companies.

Being open to high-skilled foreign nationals has benefited the US economy for centuries in many ways – filling key positions; improving productivity; contributing to job creation; spurring entrepreneurship; bringing in tax revenue; securing patents; and much more.

Some argue that Americans are not getting jobs because they are going to foreign workers. The reality is that new technologies, such as cloud computing and automation, are affecting far more jobs than anything related to foreign nationals. H-1B visa workers occupy about 0.07% of the US labor force.

In FY 2015, approximately 26,000 different US employers petitioned and hired at least one high-skilled foreign national on a new H-1B petition. Of those, about 17,000 hired only one individual on an H-1B status, and about 24,600 hired between one and ten H-1B visa holders.

This remarkable data shows the importance of H-1B workers to fill in the skilled gap and not to replace US workers. This is a battle to win your right to opportunities, freedom, and innovation, and you need a steadfast legal partner.

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