Sessions

While USCIS has long asked H-1B petitioners to provide information about third-party assignments, new guidelines now require them and even their clients to also disclose detailed information about vendor and end-client relationships when petitioning for employees who will be placed at third-party sites. These guidelines also require petitioners to provide detailed evidence covering the work to be performed by the H-1B employee during the entire period of employment. In addition, a recent Department of Labor memo provides insight into how the agency interprets electronic notice requirements for H-1B workers at third-party sites, resulting in additional obligations for H-1B petitioners utilizing the "external website" electronic posting option. All of this now gives USCIS the ability to scrutinize the relationships among petitioners, subcontractors and end-clients even more closely than before. Panelists in this session will examine the burdensome requirements outlined by the USCIS; discuss how to navigate the ever-rising rates of H-1B RFEs and denials of petitions involving third-party placements; provide strategies to increase the likelihood of obtaining approvals for such cases, and discuss best practices for client companies on whose premises these IT workers will be placed, including strategies for responding to the requests to provide documentary support for such petitions.