Visa Lawyer Blog
Employers are receiving ample H-1B RFE in FY 2009-10. This is a major concern for the IT consulting and staffing companies. The problem of the unanswerable RFE generally stems from an H1B petition that was filed without awareness of the current USCIS expectations and adjudication standards. Petitioner has to submit various proofs relating to the beneficiary intended employment. A common problem is the work location/s of the H1B employee/s. It is obvious for a consulting company to file H1B petitions that provide their headquarters office/principal place of business as the work location. This generally is done because they do not know where the individual will really be working on the start date requested in the H1B petition. A project assignment would be located and matched with the employee sometime after the H1B has been filed.
RFEs are asking for the information which sometimes difficult to answer. This type of case is likely to request contracts between the consulting company and the end client, as well as the mid vendor, if any, for the project. It is also likely to ask for a letter from the end client verifying the job duties and other details along with Statement of Work/Purchase order/Contract papers, if any. If there is no such project, then the RFE is unanswerable. Intended work-place should be as per the LCA filed with the H-1B petition. Project is must for proper reply to the H-1b RFE including the area of work submitted in the H1B filing. RFE needs to be replied with adequate response otherwise it may appear to USCIS that the employer has something to hide or that the case that was filed was fraudulent intention since inception.
Hence, it is our suggestion to file H-1B Petitions as per the applicable laws and requirements to avoid strict enforcement. We will be happy to help all such employers facing such kind of peculiar challenges.