Visa Lawyer Blog
Recently our firm successfully filed an H-3 visa for a Front Office Manager position with a prestigious hotel chain. Here are a few things we learned along the way to help you file a successful H-3 visa for a trainee.
Establish frequent communication with the petitioner
In the case at issue the employer/petitioner was a major hotel chain with a great reputation, making it easier to establish the hotel as a distinguished organization with the capacity to hold such training. Our point of contact was the Director of Human Resources.
Create a detailed training plan
Creating a tailored training plan for the employer/petitioner was by far the most difficult part of filing this case because the hotel had its own rules and regulations for approving training sessions. At first, we submitted a very detailed training plan for approval to the Hotel Managers. We went through additional drafts and revisions to have the final training plan approved. Here were the steps we took to get to the final plan:
Step 1: Communicate with the petitioner:
At the outset we established what the employer/petitioner needed to include in the training plan. In this case, we had to create a training plan from scratch, because the employer/petitioner was not satisfied with the initial draft. We started by clarifying the scope of what was being offered to the beneficiary. Our office went through several rounds of drafts before coming to an agreement of what should be included in the training plan.
Step 2: Revise Training Plan
Once we drafted the final training plan, we sent it to the employer/petitioner for approval. They reviewed and revised it several times circulating it thorough their appropriate channels before it was completed and approved by all parties. This process took several weeks. Finally, we had a final training plan set up with detailed hours, locations of trainings, instructors, percentages of time spent in class and on the job training as per USCIS standard.
Special Note: USICS does not need a daily syllabus, just an overview of the topics and learning outcomes.
Step 3: Establish proof that the training is not available in beneficiary’s home country.
Establishing that the training was not available in the beneficiary’s home country was another obstacle because our client originated from a small island which had hotels, but none which offered the specific training.
Establishing that the training is not available in the beneficiary’s home country MUST be provided in order for your case to be approved.
We satisfied this requirement by providing a letter from an expert working for a well-respected major hotel chain on the island. The expert worked as a manager for the specific position we were applying for. We also provided information about the island and what education was available on the island, as well as what was lacking.
Although we have discussed only some of the criteria required for a successful H-3 trainee case, we found that these areas were the most difficult to overcome. To ensure a smooth filing, make sure you establish effective channels of communication with the petitioner and work as a team to create and finalize the training plan. In addition, make sure you have a clear understanding of the H-3 requirements and the documentation that must be included. For a complete list of the H-3 visa requirements please visit our website.