According to recently released news, the rate of H-1B denials is around 23%.
One of the main reasons for H-1B denial is because some employers are still using the ancient SOC code 15-1121 - Computer Systems Analysts or 15-1131 - Computer Programmer to continue paying low wages. They are using the job title Programmer, Programmer Analyst or Systems Analyst along with these SOC codes.
USCIS does not believe that Computer Systems Analysts or Computer Programmers require a Computer Science degree and even a candidate with a Bachelor of Arts degree can become a Computer Systems Analyst or Programmer Analyst or Computer Programmer.
A H-1B employee can ask for certified LCA from employer to check his/her job title and SOC code or find the LCA data online as it is a public record.
They can request their employer to upgrade their petition to premium processing if their employer used this job title or SOC code so that they can look for alternatives before their I-94 expires. It is risky for H-1B employees if their petition is denied after the expiry of I-94.
USCIS is also denying petitions when the H-1B employee has a non-Computer Science degree and the RFE is not clearly answered along with detailed work experience letters from previous employers.
Most overseas employers do not give detailed work experience letters and issue service certificates which only contain information about start date, end date and job title of the employee at the time of leaving the company.
USCIS does not evaluate these previous job experience letters if the letter does not contain detailed roles and responsibilities of the previous job. This results in denials of H-1B extensions of non-Computer Science H-1B employees who need to document 6-9 years of previous IT experience to obtain equivalency of a US Computer Science degree.
It is also time for non-Computer Science H-1B employees to invest eight to ten thousand dollars and get an online graduate certificate in computer science or information systems from a state university or reputation private university or buy one-way tickets to home country.
Some end clients are reluctant to issue client letters stating roles and responsibilities of the contractor H-1B employee. The H-1B contractor employee needs to change projects where the end client is supportive by issuing a client letter with detailed roles and responsibilities. This has become a major reason for H-1B denials.
Many smaller IT consulting companies do not have the knowledge to deal with boilerplate RFE’s on specialty occupation, employer employee relationship, work experience and educational qualifications for H-1B employees.
We request H-1B employees who are subject to an imminent layoff to send their resume to info@immigrationadvice.com and we will help them find a new employer who can sponsor them.
Press note released by: Indian Clicks, LLC