Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

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New Life for H1-B Petitions: Market Research Analyst Ruling a Good Sign for H-1B Petitioners

3 min read
H-1B visas renewed

H-1B Petitioners: In December 2018, I got an unpleasant surprise: My first – and only – H-1B petition denial in my over 20+ years of practicing immigration law.

The petition was on behalf of an operation research analyst. I had done the same petition for different operations research analysts at this organization. Also, USCIS had approved them all, some all the way to green cards.

For this situation, I prepared the customer, submitted a thorough petition, and responded to all requests for evidence. Unfortunately, this unpleasant surprise was not a shock. However, USCIS’s scrutiny had intensified and many ideas it was exceeding its limits, creating a downward trend on approvals.

USCIS Scrutiny Oversteps Bounds | H-1B Petitioners

H-1B visas pertain to specialty occupations, jobs that by definition require a bachelor’s degree. When assessing an H-1B petition, USCIS consults one of two sources to check the job requirements. The first, and most common, is the Occupation Outlook Handbook (OOH). The second is O*Net.

Job descriptions in the OOH describe bachelor’s degree requirements in different ways. It will say a job “typically requires a bachelor’s degree” or “normally requires a bachelor’s degree” or “a bachelor’s degree may be required.” Until recent years, those descriptions sufficed to qualify a position as H-1B eligible. The wording of the job descriptions was understood to reflect the reality that employers look for candidates with bachelor’s degrees for those positions.

During the past government, however, USCIS resorted to a stricter interpretation of those statements. Seizing on the notion that qualifying words like “normally,” “typically,” and “maybe” signify it is not always the case. Based on this interpretation USCIS started denying petitions for positions it had approved previously.

USCIS Unlawful Denial Challenged

Specifically, one position that got caught in USCIS’s crosshairs was a market research analyst. USCIS was arbitrarily denying H-1B market research analyst petitions for not qualifying as a “specialty occupation” based on the OOH description.

Seeing this theme, the American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and a few law offices brought a class-action lawsuit. Moreover, USCIS tried to get the case dismissed. When all attempts failed, instead of litigating it they reached a settlement agreement.

Settlement Agreement is a Good Sign

The settlement agreement corrects the Agency’s error and specifies that employers whose H-1B market research analyst petitions were denied between January 2019 and October 2021 may request that USCIS reopen and re-adjudicate their cases.

This result raised expectations among the immigration law community that arbitrary denials. Also, based on failing to qualify as a “specialty occupation” will stop for different positions. We view the rulings by the court and resulting settlement as starting precedent.

[US waiver on in-person interview ‘great move’, says Philadelphia based H-1B visa holder]

With these changes, it should be a lot simpler for businesses to utilize H-1B petitions for their employees and open up more options for their workforce. Furthermore, it implies that there is new life for any H1-B petition that was denied during January 2019 to October 2021 time span. As the rulings and settlement demonstrate that there is a much better shot. Those petitions are being approved now if re-opened and re-adjudicated.

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