H-1B Approval for Mexican Client in Ohio, Third-Party Placement Issue, IT Consulting Company Petitioner

CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: IT Consulting Company

BENEFICIARY: Mexican

LOCATION: Ohio

ISSUE: Third-Party Placement / Consulting Company Issue

Our client is an IT consulting company in Ohio. The beneficiary is a Mexican who obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree.  The proffered position for the Beneficiary was a computer systems analyst which qualifies as a specialty occupation.  Previously, the petitioner filed an H-1B visa petition on behalf of the beneficiary, but it was denied by the USCIS due to third-party placement issue.

Thereafter, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on November 10, 2010 via premium processing service. On November 24, 2010, the USCIS requested the petitioner to submit additional evidence to rebut the third-party placement issue.  This issue of “in-house” employment was the main reason why the beneficiary’s previous H-1B visa petition was denied. This issue has been prevalent since a memorandum was issued over a year ago targeting IT and Business Consulting companies, as they typically act as a bridge to eventually place their employees under the control of their clients – a third party.

Upon our receipt of the RFE from the USCIS, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu prepared a detailed response with several exhibits as a response to the RFE.  The exhibits included information regarding the Petitioner-Employer, a detailed letter from Petitioner-Employer regarding the beneficiary’s In-House Employment, and various charts and spreadsheets detailing the particular in-house project of the position. In the cover letter to the USCIS, Attorney Yu explained the nature of the in-house employment setting between the Petitioner and the Beneficiary with a detailed explanation of specific projects that the beneficiary will work on at the Petitioner’s own site. Our firm also submitted various supporting documents to illustrate to the CIS the complexity of beneficiary’s project.

Our office filed the response to RFE with the USCIS California Service Center on December 21, 2010.  Our client’s H-1B application was approved on December 28, 2010.  It was approved within a week after the response to RFE was filed.  Now our client can work for his employer as an H-1B visa holder and he can work there. His wife’s I-539 H-4 application was also approved.