USCIS Approves H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa for Cap-Exempt Employer

Getson & Schatz, P.C. provides immigration representation to a large hospital in Pennsylvania. The hospital needed help petitioning for a prospective H-1B employee for a change of employer. An H-1B nonimmigrant visa allows specialty occupation workers to temporarily work in the United States. There are two main requirements for an H-1B visa: (1) the position must be a specialty occupation requiring a U.S. bachelor's degree or higher and (2) the person applying for the H-1B visa must possess a U.S. bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent.  United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) classified the hospital as a “cap exempt” H-1B employer because it is an Affiliate of a University and is also  a non-profit research facility. In this case, our firm filed Form I-129 Petition for Immigrant Worker along with the H Supplement, Form I-129H-1B, and a copy of the Department of Labor (DOL) Labor Condition Application. The Labor Condition Application describes the wage to be paid, the prevailing wage for the   position, and affirms that the employer will abide by certain regulations.  We also provided a letter from the hospital regarding the formal job description of the position.  Lastly, our firm filed a petition for the employee’s wife to obtain an H-4 nonimmigrant visa. The H-4 nonimmigrant visa is granted to derivatives (such as a spouse or children) of the primary visa beneficiary. USCIS approved the filings and the H-1B change of employer and H-4 extension of status were granted.

USCIS Approves Extension of H-1B Visa for Employee of Prominent Advertising Agency

Our firm provides immigration representation to a prominent advertising agency in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Our client, the advertising agency, had been employing a nonimmigrant as a 3D Animator under in H-1B nonimmigrant status.  The advertising agency wanted to extend the employee’s H-1B nonimmigrant status which was expiring after an initial 3 year period.  Therefore, we filed Form ETA 9035 Labor Condition Application with the Department of Labor and thereafter filed I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, the H Classification Supplement to Form I-129, and Form I-129 H-1B Data Collection Supplement with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the H-1B employment without change for an additional 3 year period.  USCIS approved the extension of the 3D Animator’s H-1B nonimmigrant status.

USCIS Approves Extension of H-1B Specialty Occupation Status and Extension of H-4 Status for Derivative Spouse

Getson and Schatz, P.C. has been continuously providing immigration representation for a company employing a Spa Manager in H-1B Specialty Occupation status.  There are two primary requirements for an H-1B visa: (1) the position must be a specialty occupation, meaning it involves theoretical and practical application of a highly specialized body of knowledge typically obtained by a bachelor’s degree and (2) the beneficiary most hold a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific field.  We filed an H-1B extension petition for the Spa Manager position.  We initially obtained information about the prevailing wage for the position for the work location.  We then filed Form ETA 9035 Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the US Department of Labor. This form contains information about the wage to be paid to the H-1B employee. We also prepared and filed Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, H Classification Supplement to Form I-129, and H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement. In addition, we prepared an employer letter detailing the specialized knowledge requirements for the position of a Spa Manager.  Lastly, we prepared and filed Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status to extend the H-4 derivative status of the Spouse. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved the H-1B and H-4 extensions.

FY-2012 H-1B Petition Approved for Computer Systems Analyst

Our firm received approval for a FY-2012 H-1B Petition filed by a Company that provides money transfer services from the United States to a foreign country.  The H-1B Petition was for a Computer Systems Analyst to develop the Company’s internal payment-processing infrastructure to integrate with its’ bank partners’ IT infrastructure in the foreign country.  Our firm assisted the Company to clearly explain the nature of their business and the nature of the Computer Systems analyst position to USCIS.  We also provided extensive documentation that the position involved a bona fide, non-speculative job offer.

USCIS Approves H-1B for Software Engineer

Getson  & Schatz, P.C. provides all of the immigration representation to a software company that supplies document and quality management software solutions for life sciences companies. Our software company client came to us seeking help in hiring a new employee for a change of status from F-1 to H-1B for the position of Software Engineer.  We prepared and filed a H-1B petition.  The first step in preparing an H-1B petition is filing the Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor (DOL). The LCA lists the prevailing wage for that industry and the wages to be paid to the employee. Once the LCA was certified by DOL, we filed Form I-129 along with the H Supplement and Form I-129 H-1B Data Collection Supplement. Our firm organized a detailed packet with the aforementioned forms, along with a letter from our client discussing the requirements of the position, and information about the business of the company and the background of the foreign national.  USCIS approved the H-1B nonimmigrant change of status petition and our client's H-1B status will take effect on October 1st.  In the meantime, under the H-1B cap gap regulation, the F-1 OPT EAD of the foreign national will be extended through September 30th.

Cap-Exempt H-1B Extension Petition Approved for One of the Largest Hospitals in Pennsylvania

Getson & Schatz, P.C. provides immigration representation to one of the largest Hospitals in Pennsylvania.  For many years the Hospital has been classified by USCIS as a “cap exempt” H-1B employer because documentation was provided by our firm to USCIS that it should be considered an Affiliate of a University and should also be considered a non-profit research facility.  Based upon USCIS interim guidance that all H-1B employers who were found to be cap exempt after June 6, 2006 should continue to be cap-exempt, we filed an H-1B extension petition on behalf of one of the Hospital’s H-1B employees.  Based upon our firm’s understanding of USCIS policy on H-1B cap exemptions, the H-1B extension petition was granted.

H-1B Cap Petition Approved for Change of Status from F-1 to H-1B

Getson & Schatz, P.C. represents a major software corporation in all of its immigration matters. The corporation is a leading producer of software for life sciences companies who utilize electronic records. We prepared an H-1B petition on behalf of our client for a new employee to change from F-1 student status to H-1B specialty occupation worker status. The new employee was present in the United States in lawful F-1 status working for our client in connection with an Optional Practical Training work authorization following receipt of a United States Master’s Degree in Computer Science.  The employee worked to configure, customize and implement the Company’s software products for its clients.  The H-1B change of status petition was approved by USCIS.

H-1B Change of Employer Petition Approved for Analytical Quality Control Chemist at One of the Largest Pharmaceutical Companies in the United States

Our Philadelphia Immigration Law Firm represents one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the United States.  The Company wished to hire an individual for the position of Analytical Quality Control Chemist who was in the United States in H-1B status working for another employer.   The H-1B portability law permits an individual in valid nonimmigrant status who previously held H-1B status to begin working for a new H-1B employer upon the filing of an H-1B petition to change employers.  It is necessary to demonstrate to USCIS that the individual is maintaining lawful nonimmigrant status at the time of filing of the petition and for those individuals currently in H-1B status that is accomplished by providing USCIS copies of recent pay stubs from the current H-1B employer.  An individual in H-1B status filing for an H-1B change of employer should not leave the current employer at least until the new H-1B Petition is filed and some individual prefer to wait until the H-1B petition is approved in which case the use of premium processing is recommended.  The H-1B change of employer Petition filed by our firm was approved.

I-94 Card Corrected at Airport After CBP Officer Mistakenly Issued I-94 card through Expiration Date of Visa Issued for Prior H-1B Employer Instead of Through Expiration Date of H-1B Petition of Current Employer

When an H-1B employee was issued a visa based upon an approved petition filed by a prior employer and thereafter changes H-1B employers, the immigration law permits the individual to return to the U.S. following international travel using a valid, unexpired H-1B visa from a prior employer and the H-1B approval notice for the new employer.  Upon arrival to the U.S., the CBP officer at the airport should issue the I-94 card in the name of the new employer with a validity date through the expiration date of the new employer's petition.  Our client had traveled internationally under these circumstances but when he entered the US the CBP Officer mistakenly issued his I-94 card through the validity date of the visa of the prior employer which was 8 months shorter than the validity date of the H-1B Petition of the current employer.  Our client did not notice the mistake at the time but we noticed the mistake when we were preparing an amended H-1B Petition for a change in job location.  If a mistake is made on an I-94 card the foreign national is stuck with that mistake unless it is timely corrected.  Fortunately, the mistake was noticed prior to the incorrect expiration date on the I-94 card.  If the mistake had not been noticed our client's status would have expired 8 months earlier than thought, would have been out of status and working illegally, and it would have been a huge mess.   It is very important that everyone who travels knows the expiration date they should receive on their I-94 card and checks their I-94 card for accuracy as soon as it is handed to them.  If there is an error on the I-94 card point it out to the CBP officer and ask it to be corrected right then and there.  If the I-94 card error is not noticed until later, like in our case, the appropriate procedure is to return to the Airport with evidence that CBP made a mistake, evidence of maintenance of status, and evidence of what the correct I-94 expiration should be.  Our client did this after we pointed out the mistake and was issued a corrected I-94 card nunc pro tunc in the name of the changed H-1B employer with the correct expiration date.

H-1B Extension Petition Approved for Computer Programmer working at Cap-Exempt H-1B Teaching Hospital

Our Philadelphia Immigration law firm represents a Hospital that is H-1B cap exempt because it provides a medical residency program for a prominent University and the University operates the program.  The Hospital hires computer programmers to help operate is computer systems.  Even though the computer programmers at the Hospital are not medical residents, they still obtain the benefits of working for an H-1B cap exempt employer.  We filed a H-1B extension petition on behalf of the computer programmer documenting that the employer is cap exempt and the H-1B petition was approved by USCIS.

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