Thursday, April 23, 2009

H1B FY 2010 : Few Applicants are Receiving RFE


Thursday, April 23, 2009 | , , , ,

Many H1B applicants for fiscal year 2010 are receiving request for evidence (RFE). Most of the reported RFEs are regarding the use of old I-129 form (Petition for Non-Immigrant Worker). Recently released form has an additional section to check “Has petitioner received TARP funding”. Senate recently passed a new bill enforcing tougher regulations on TARP funded companies, thus making it difficult to hire H1B workers.

Many lawyers, in order to beat the rush during the first week of April neglected the release of new I-129 form. USCIS is now sending RFEs to such petitioners requesting them to provide information if company is TARP funded. But thats not something one should worry about as providing information for such RFEs is straight forward.

H1B aspirants for FY 2010, who are planning to apply in future should make sure that their lawyer use recent I-129 form. Though replying back to such RFEs is easy, but this will definitely chew up good amount of lead-time, making wait longer for an approval.

Other RFEs reported are those received by few consulting and staffing companies.

1) Employment agreement between Petitioner and Beneficiary;
2) Service Agreement between Petitioner and end-Client;
3) Statement of Work/Purchase Order for Beneficiary indicating his services are required for the next 3 years;
4) Petitioners' 2008 Federal Income Tax returns

Looking at above RFEs, it seems that many consulting and staffing companies would have tough time getting approvals for their beneficiaries. Such petitioners would need SOW/PO from client stating that their service is required for entire tenure of H1B visa. In addition, if there is an applicant who is not on project, it may not be possible for him to get documents associated to RFE number 2.

It's bizarre on USCIS/DOL part to expect client letters, as there may be no client who can foretell the need for next 3 years. Most of these projects are on need-basis and can be as short as 3-5 months. As long as petitioner is paying his employee regularly on H1B visa, is financially sound and not abusing the system, beneficiary should be eligible to receive H1B visa.

H1B applicants for fiscal year 2010, who had applied through consulting and staffing companies should start working on above documents as gathering them would take some time. The time frame given by USCIS is not that long to respond, hence its better to be organized with all your documents.


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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

when your h1b petition or application have RFE,is there any chance of approving it?

CM said...

Yes when you get a RFE and you reply in timely manner with the required documents, your case will be approved.

Anonymous said...

can we get approval before RFE deadline if we submit the required documents before the deadline

Rav said...

Yes you can get approval as long as all the documents are submited

Anonymous said...

how much time does uscis take to make the decision and communicate it after the response to the rfe has been submitted

Anonymous said...

I am on L2 with EAd.Emplyed by a consulting firm and go to third party location to work. My consulting firm is willing to sponsor but they might not be able to show that this service is required for another 3 years by the client. should I not file ? Or is there any other way to file?

Priti DSilva said...

Hi, what about RFE for L1B? Thanks

Unknown said...

Hello guys.

My lawyer filed RFE on July 12, 2010. It is already more than 60 days.

As my lawyer says: he put in an official service request with USCIS complaining about the length of time.

What does it mean? Can anybody help, please?

Thanks
Zafar

Anonymous said...

IF SPONSORING COMPANY FAILS TO PRESENT THE RFE THEN WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU PAID ALL FEES? CAN U GET YOUR MONEY BACK??

Rav said...

If sponsoring company fails to present RFE in a requested time then your H1B application will be denied.

To answer your question on "Can you get your money back?". As per USCIS, employee is not allowed to pay for H1B expenses. It is illegal for a company to ask it employee to pay for the H1B expense. Only exception to this is cost involved with Premium Processing. You can pay for that.

CM said...

If sponsoring company fails to present RFE in a requested time then your H1B application will be denied.

To answer your question on "Can you get your money back?". As per USCIS, employee is not allowed to pay for H1B expenses. It is illegal for a company to ask it employee to pay for the H1B expense. Only exception to this is cost involved with Premium Processing. You can pay for that.

Priti DSilva said...

Hi, what about RFE for L1B? Thanks

Jess said...

If new employer 2 pays 90% higher salary than employer 1, will the H1B Transfer be denied?? employer 1 was paying the employee very less, however the industry standard salary is being payed by employer 2.

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