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As far as H-1B visas are concerned, there’s nothing we haven’t already seen before, including an H-1B non-profit RFE case.
The H-1B visa is a very common way to enter the U.S. due to its advantages. However, this also means that the competition for obtaining this visa is fierce. Each year, the USCIS receives more petitions than it has available visas, so each petition is entered into a random lottery for selection. Last year, over 236,000 petitions were filed. Compare it to the annual quota of 85,000, and you begin to realize that the odds of selection are relatively low.
We see these cases often. While we can make sure that your case is rock solid and your documents and fees are all filed, nothing will ensure that your petition is selected in the cap. Always be wary of anyone who claims that they can guarantee a spot in the annual H-1B cap.
Fortunately, there are ways to go around the lottery. You can do this by finding a cap-exempt employer or being cap-exempt yourself. However, the client that approached our office one sunny morning was not cap-exempt, so we knew we would have our hands full.
The USCIS heavily scrutinizes each H-1B case to make sure that no one can take advantage of the system in a fraudulent way. So when we learned that the individual who would be the visa beneficiary did not necessarily have a degree that was relevant to the position, we knew this would be an uphill battle.
The nonprofit organization was looking to hire the beneficiary for a position in a community service area. However, the individual held foreign degrees in both law and economics as well as a master’s degree in economics, hardly fitting for a community service organization.
So we did what we always do for visa cases. We triple checked the facts, highlighted the individual’s qualifications, filed the petition, and waited for the USCIS’s response.
Sure enough, a large H-1B Request for Evidence (RFE) arrived a few day’s later.
Fortunately, RFE’s are nothing new to our attorneys, and they were ready to respond to the issues brought up. Without disclosing personal details, it suffices to say that the USCIS questioned everything from the nature of the position itself to the qualifications that the beneficiary possessed that were relevant to the position.
The USCIS used a template RFE that would usually be used for IT consulting companies. However, our client was a non-profit organization, so some of the evidence requested would not have been possible to obtain. Our goal in creating a response was to educate the USCIS about our client’s organization and explain why only certain kinds of evidence would be submitted to meet the evidentiary standard.
When it came to the individual’s job, the USCIS questioned whether it was a specialty position. We broke down her day-to-day tasks, explaining why each one required the use of her education in order to complete.
In the end, the response that we crafted addressed each issue in a way that was both robust and detailed. It spelled out the important aspects of the position, the organization itself, and the beneficiary’s qualifications that were applicable to her duties.
Needless to say, the case was approved in a few days. All of the issues presented by the USCIS in their RFE had been addressed in a satisfactory way. The visa was issued to the beneficiary and she now serves a critical role in the nonprofit organization that sponsored her.
This case highlighted the importance of having an expert who knows the regulations inside and out. It required us to remind the USCIS what kinds of evidence were required in an H-1B non-profit RFE.
If you’re looking for an H-1B attorney that won’t shy away from a difficult case, then you’ve come to the right place.
At VisaNation, we’re in the business of tackling difficult cases and getting results. Each tough situation expands our experience base and makes us better at what we do, which is helping people get visas to enter the U.S. That’s why we welcome the difficult cases instead of turning them away.
If you have found yourself in a difficult immigration situation concerning an H-1B visa, then turn to the attorneys that have a track record of seeing tough cases through to the favorable end. To get in touch with one of our lawyers, you can schedule a consultation.
