In an effort to fight fraud and abuse in the L1 and H1B programs, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing a program known as Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE). VIBE is a web-based tool that will allow the USCIS to corroborate certain basic information about a company during adjudication of employment-based visa petitions. Use of this program is becoming evident in the content of requests for evidence (RFEs). See example below from one of our cases.
USCIS procedures allow for the employer to explain or clarify any concerns regarding information contained in VIBE. If information collected through the VIBE program reveals inconsistencies with the employer’s petition, or raises other concerns regarding the case, the USCIS should issue an RFE or notice of intent to deny (NOID) to allow for a response, rather than directly denying the case. The RFE or NOID will clearly note that that the VIBE program has found missing or contradictory information and provide a description of this information. The petitioning employer will then have the ability to address these issues.
As you can see in the example above, the info for our client was completely in accurate and as a result the RFE was issued. We had to communicate with the Dun and Bradstreet office for hours until they finally updated the info and issued a confirmation page. We used that new verification from D & B to respond to the USCIS request for evidence.
USCIS entered into a contract with New Jersey-based Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) in September 2009 to act as the information provider for the VIBE program. D&B is a supplier of commercial information on businesses. In order to avoid RFEs or NOIDs due to outdated or inaccurate information in D&B’s records, employers may wish to review their D&B company report and ensure that D&B’s database is accurate. There is no fee to update company information. If a company finds that D&B does not have its information at all, it may request assignment of a D&B number.
We suggest that Employers be proactive and find out what is contained in their D&B records.