AAO SAYS “NO” TO JOB PORTABILITY WHEN LABOR CERTIFICATION HAS BEEN SUBSTITUTED

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta

Given the crushing backlogs in the EB-2 preference for India and China, and the EB-3 for India, where the wait can exceed 30 years, one would hope that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Appeals Administrative Office (AAO) would read INA § 204(j) more generously, which allows a foreign national to “port” to a new job in a same or similar occupation so long as the I-485 adjustment of status application has been pending for more than 180 days. This should happen even if the employer substituted another person on the labor certification after the original beneficiary left the employer.

Unfortunately, the AAO does not think so in an unpublished decision dated March 26, 2010, http://drop.io/aao_26mar10_substitution. Even though the Department of Labor got rid off labor substitutions on July 16, 2007, pursuant to 20 CFR § 656.30(c)(2), substitutions were permissible prior to that date, and many thousands of foreign nationals who are beneficiaries of labor certifications may have been substituted by their employers with other foreign nationals unbeknownst to them after they left the employer. If they have I-485 applications they can “port” to new jobs in a same or similar occupation without fear of the labor certification or the I-140 petition being invalidated, but after the recent AAO’s decision, they are now in a very difficult predicament. This decision would have a disproportionate impact on people born in India and China who are caught in the EB quota backlogs.

The crux of the AAO’s reasoning is that notwithstanding INA § 204(j), which was introduced by the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000 (AC 21) - legislation clearly intended by to ameliorate the hardships brought about by delays in processing and visa backlogs - the underlying labor certification must still remain valid for the foreign national beneficiary. INA § 212(a)(5)(A)(i) requires an alien who seeks to enter the US to perform skilled or unskilled labor to have a labor certification. Hence, if the labor certification has been now substituted for another beneficiary, as was permissible prior to July 16, 2007, under the AAO’s strained interpretation, there is no longer a valid labor certification and the requirements of INA § 212(a)(5)(A)(i) are no longer being fulfilled. According to the AAO, “USCIS cannot interpret sections 204(j) and 212(a)(5)(A)(iv) of the Act as allowing the adjustment of two aliens based on the same labor certification when section 212(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act explicitly requires a labor certification as evidence of an individual alien’s admissibility.”

We disagree. INA § 204(j) is broad and sweeping. It says:

A petition under subsection (a)(1)(D) [since redesignated section 204(a)(1)(F)] for an individual whose application for adjustment of status remains unadjudicated for 180 days or more shall remain valid with respect to a new job if the individual changes jobs or employers if the new job is in the same or occupational classification as the job for which the petition was filed.

Without the assistance of INA § 204(j), a labor certification can get invalidated in many ways. If the beneficiary moves to a new employer and does not intend to take up the job with the employer who filed the labor certification, it is no longer valid. Similarly, if the beneficiary does not intend to work in the area of employment, where the labor market was tested and the prevailing wage was based, the labor certification will get invalidated even if the beneficiary works for the same employer. This may be true even where the beneficiary is compelled to move to another area other than where the market was tested when an employer relocates, say from New York, where the labor market was unsuccessfully tested for qualified US workers, to California. Under all of these disqualifying circumstances, INA § 204(j) comes to the beneficiary’s rescue notwithstanding the invalidation of the labor certification, so long as she or he is working in the same or similar occupation and an I-485 has been pending for more than 180 days. It thus strains logic when the AAO distinguishes these circumstances of labor certification invalidity from when the labor certification has been substituted by the employer with another foreign national beneficiary.

In our view, the AAO argument may be countered by explaining that once the adjustment has been on file for 180 days, the sponsoring employer lost any remaining right to the labor certification ownership of which passed to original beneficiary. This AAO decision is a significant restriction on adjustment of status portability and, by making the foreign national prove a negative, that no one else has been substituted in, is fundamentally unfair. The foreign national after the 180 days should be said to have a property interest in the labor certification. Moreover, the AAO agreed that even if the employer revoked the subsequently filed and approved I-140 petition, it would not undermine the ability of the beneficiary to “port” under INA § 204(j). This is illogical to the extreme. If the I-140 is revoked, portability is still permitted, but if the labor certification is withdrawn or substituted for another beneficiary, it undermines portability. It would be consistent with INA 204(j) to argue that regardless of whether the labor certification or the I-140 have been withdrawn, both invalidating events should still allow the beneficiary to allow him or her to “port” to a same or similar occupation.

We also credit Quynh Nguyen’s powerful observation that the AAO decision concludes by stating that the beneficiary who was taken out of the labor certification has not been able to show that the substituted beneficiary who ultimately adjusted status, based on the same underlying labor certification, did so illegitimately. This is after the AAO reasons that it is not possible for the original beneficiary to adjust once substitution occurs. A substituted beneficiary may legitimately substitute, but then may adjust status when actually inadmissible, but conceals the ground of inadmissibility. Even if the original beneficiary can now successfully point to the inadmissibility that was concealed, such as disqualifying criminal conduct or a false claim to citizenship, this in itself does not take away from the substitution, and Quynh correctly states that the AAO’s conclusion is circular. Moreover, it would create an unsavory situation where the original beneficiary would be gunning for anything to show that the substituted beneficiary obtained the green card illegitimately.

Beyond this, as Quynh Nguyen cogently reminds us, the AAO reasoning suffers from the same fundamental fallacy as the labor certification process itself, namely imposing the impossible burden of proving that a negative exists. Even though labor certification is employer-specific while INA § 204(j) is alien-centric, the flexibility that must infuse both processes to make them work is stifled by an agency predilection for requiring proof of the unseen as a precondition for approval. In each case, the proper functioning of INA 212(a)(5)(A) is primordial. DOL requires a sponsoring employer to show the absence of qualified, willing, and available US workers despite the fact that only the Secretary of Labor bears this burden of proof under INA Section 212(a)(5)(A). The AAO compels the foreign national who has ported under § 204(j) to become Sherlock Holmes and show that no one has used the labor certification to get the green card. In both instances, not only is such shifting of the burden of proof logically dubious, it is legally unjustified. The adjustment of status applicant who seeks the personal freedom and occupational mobility afforded by AC 21 has no way to find out what has happened to the labor certification he or she left behind; indeed, the notice of intent to revoke the I-140 petition only goes to the former employer who has no motive save honor to respond.

While the authors do not want the original beneficiary to get jeopardized when there is a substitution, it would likewise be fundamentally unfair for the legitimately substituted beneficiary to be robbed out of permanent residency and be similarly placed in jeopardy. There need not be a winner or a loser. Both can win. Thankfully, our good friend Angelo Paparelli and a colleague proposed the “cell mitosis” theory of labor certification. See Angelo A. Paparelli and Janet J. Lee, A Moveable Feast": An Analysis of New and Old Portability Under AC21 § 105, 6 Bender's Immigr. Bull. 111, 126 (Feb. 1, 2001) and available at http://www.ilw.com/articles/2001,1119-Paparelli.shtm.

In their refreshingly original article, this is how they articulate the "cell mitosis" theory of labor certification:

In fairness to all three parties, the labor certification should be treated as "divisible" under what can be called the "cell mitosis" theory.[citation omitted] Under this theory, the labor certification would remain valid with respect to the employee's new job, [citation omitted] and the sponsoring employer would also be permitted to substitute another alien worker on the labor certification. From the sponsoring employer's perspective, the conditions under which the labor certification was granted remain the same (other than the fact that the initial worker has resigned); there is still a demonstrated shortage of U.S. workers for the position. To require the employer to test the market again would be unfair and unduly burdensome. Thus, just as in the process of cell mitosis, each party (the sponsoring employer and initial beneficiary employee) should be able to retain the benefits flowing from the single approved labor certification.

Ironically, the AAO decision does precisely what the DOL did not like about the prior practice of alien substitution: "We acknowledge that after enactment of AC 21, DOL's practice of substitution effectively created a race between the employer seeking to use the labor certification to fill the proffered position on a permanent basis and the alien beneficiary named on the labor certification…" Id. at 9. That is precisely the effect of the AAO decision. Ironic. We do not see why INA § 204(j) cannot be generously interpreted consistent with the “cell mitosis” theory to allow for one labor certification to provide the basis for two beneficiaries to adjust and obtain permanent residency and still be in harmony with both § 204(j) and § 212(a)(5)(a)(ii).

Finally, the reliance by the AAO on two decisions to argue that the USCIS has been precluded from approving a visa petition when the labor certification has been used by someone else is completely misplaced. Neither is a substitution of alien case. Matter of Harry Bailen Builders, Inc., 19 I&N Dec. 412, 414 (Comm. 1986) is a case where the foreign national abandoned lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and then wanted to come back using the original labor certification approval. In Matter of Francisco Javier Villarreal-Zuniga, 23 I&N Dec. 886, 889-90 (BIA 2006), the foreign national wanted to re-use the I-130 petition his mother filed after he had already acquired LPR status on this basis before being placed in removal. This was not a labor certification case at all which is very relevant since the AAO focused repeatedly on the idea that the whole logic of its ruling rested on the validity of the labor certification. Also there was no substitution of beneficiaries and no application of portability under § 204(j) in those cases. They were both the same people attempting to use the original approvals after they lost LPR status through removal or abandonment. These people already got their green cards and wanted to use the earlier petitions without starting over again, which is very different from an individual legitimately relying on INA § 204(j) only to find that the USCIS does not grant LPR under certain circumstances involving labor certification invalidity but allows it under other circumstances.

Not even the wisdom of Solomon allows us to separate the validity of the I-140 petition from the validity of the labor certification on which it rests. The AAO relies on INA § 212(a)(5)(A)(i), together with the policy behind the regulation that removed substitutions, 20 CFR § 650.30(c)(2) (that a labor certification can only be used by one alien) to deprive the appellant in the case sub judice of the ability to adjust status once an unknown substituted beneficiary has won the race to the green card . This fundamentally misunderstands the scope and purpose of INA § 204(j), which allows the adjustment applicant to move to another job with another employer regardless of geographical location so long as the new job is in the same or similar occupational classification. Clearly, the DOL has not made any labor shortage determination with respect to this second role nor is this required. Such a foreign national therefore could not possibly rely upon the original labor certification filed by a different employer who might be located in a different city for a different job. That is why AC 21 allows the law itself to substitute for the original labor certification when the criteria for portability set forth in INA 204(j) have been satisfied. There is no conflict between AC 21 and DOL regulations if the AAO properly understood both.

The scope of this AAO ruling is difficult to determine but its implications for the future remain troubling. This is not the first time that the AAO has sought to curtail the flexibility afforded by INA 204(j). See for example, Herrera v. USCIS, which upheld AAO’s position that the revocation of the I-140 trumps portability under INA § 204(j), http://www.cyrusmehta.com/News.aspx?SubIdx=ocyrus200979113434&Month=&From=Menu&Page=12&Year=All. And the AAO conveniently forgets this earlier decision in now holding that the invalidation of the labor certification is more fundamental than the invalidation of the I-140 petition. The result-oriented reasoning that sustains this administrative assault on AC 21 adjustment portability will doubtless make itself felt in other cases with other facts, much as the contorted definition of “employer” that the infamous Neufeld Memorandum applied to the H-1B context is migrating to other visa categories with similarly baleful results, http://drop.io/daq8dgf. Just as the AAO since New York State Department of Transportation, http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/intdec/vol22/3363.pdf, has rewritten the national interest waiver, this current decision reminds us to our sorrow that the law changes when the AAO wants it to change; Congress can remain silent.

REDEFINING “IMMEDIATELY AVAILABILE” TO ALLOW EARLY FILING OF AN ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta

We continue to blog on the salient ideas in our article, Tyranny of Priority Dates, published in BIB Daily, http://scr.bi/i0Lqkz, on March 25, 2010.

Would it not be advantageous if those caught in the crushing EB-2 or EB-3 backlogs could file an adjustment of status application, Form I-485, based on a broader definition of visa availability? It would only be more fair to allow someone to file an I-485 application sooner than many years later if all the conditions towards the green card have been fulfilled, such as labor certification and approval of the Form I-140. Upon filing of an I-485 application, one can enjoy the benefits of occupational mobility or “portability” under INA § 204(j) and children who are turning 21 can gain the protection of the Child Status Protection Act if their age is frozen below 21. Moreover, the applicant, including derivative family members, can also obtain employment authorization, which they otherwise would not be able to get on an H-4 dependent visa.

Unfortunately, INA § 245(a)(3) only allows the filing of an I-485 application when the visa is immediately available to the applicant, and this would need a Congressional fix. We know that Congress either NEVER makes any sensible fix or takes a very long time to do so. So, why not find a way for the immigration agency, USCIS, to allow for an I-485 filing before the priority date becomes current, and still be faithful to § 245(a)(3)?

The only regulation that defines visa availability is 8 C.F.R. § 245(g)(1), which provides:

An alien is ineligible for the benefits of section 245 of the Act unless an immigrant visa is immediately available to him or her at the time the application is filed. If the applicant is a preference alien, the current Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Bulletin will be consulted to determine whether an immigrant visa is immediately available. An immigrant visa is considered available for accepting and processing the application Form I-485 [if] the preference category applicant has a priority date on the waiting list which is earlier than the date shown in the Bulletin (or the Bulletin shows that numbers for visa applicants in his or her category are current). An immigrant visa is also considered immediately available if the applicant establishes eligibility for the benefits of Public Law 101-238. Information concerning the immediate availability of an immigrant visa may be obtained at any Service office.

Under 8 C.F.R. § 245.1(g)(1), why must visa availability be based solely on whether one has a priority date on the waiting list which is earlier shown in the Visa Bulletin? Why can’t “immediately available” be re-defined based on a qualifying or provisional date? We are all so accustomed to paying obeisance to the holy grail of “priority date” that we understandably overlook the fact that this all-important gatekeeper is nowhere defined. Given the collapse of the priority date system, all of us must get used to thinking of it more as a journey than a concrete point in time. The adjustment application would only be approved when the provisional date becomes current, but the new definition of immediately available visa can encompass a continuum: a provisional date that leads to a final date, which is only when the foreign national can be granted Legal Permanent Resident status but the provisional date will still allow a filing as both provisional and final dates will fall under the new regulatory definition of immediately available. During this period, the I-485 application is properly filed under INA 245(a)(3) through the new definition of immediately available through the qualifying or provisional date.

The authors propose the following amendments to 8 C.F.R. § 245(g)(1), shown here in bold, that would expand the definition of visa availability:

An alien is ineligible for the benefits of section 245 of the Act unless an immigrant visa is immediately available to him or her at the time the application is filed. If the applicant is a preference alien, the current Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Bulletin will be consulted to determine whether an immigrant visa is immediately available. An immigrant visa is considered available for accepting and processing the application Form I-485 [if] the preference category applicant has a priority date on the waiting list which is earlier than the date shown in the Bulletin (or the Bulletin shows that numbers for visa applicants in his or her category are current) (“current priority date”). An immigrant visa is also considered available for provisional submission of the application Form I-485 based on a provisional priority date without reference to current priority date. No provisional submission can be undertaken absent prior approval of the visa petition and only if visas in the preference category have not been exhausted in the fiscal year. Final adjudication only occurs when there is a current priority date. An immigrant visa is also considered immediately available if the applicant establishes eligibility for the benefits of Public Law 101-238. Information concerning the immediate availability of an immigrant visa may be obtained at any Service office.

Once 8 C.F.R. § 245.1(g)(1) is amended to allow adjustment applications to be filed under INA § 245(a)(3), the authors propose similar amendments in the Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Manual to even the playing field for beneficiaries of approved I-140 and I-130 petitions who are outside the U.S. so as not to give those here who are eligible for adjustment of status an unfair advantage. Since the visa will not be valid when issued in the absence of a current priority date, it will be necessary for USCIS to parole such visa applicants in to the United States. Since parole is not considered a legal admission, they will not be eligible for adjustment of status but will have to depart the United States and use the now-valid visa as a travel document to return when visa availability subsequently presents itself. The authors suggest the insertion of the following sentence, shown here in bold and deletion of an other sentence, in 9 Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) 42.55 PN 1.1, as follows:

9 FAM 42.55 PN1.1 Qualifying Dates

“Qualifying dates” are established by the Department to ensure that applicants will not be officially informed of requisite supporting documentation requirements prematurely, i.e., prior to the time that the availability of a visa number within a reasonable period can be foreseen. Therefore, post or National Visa Center (NVC) will not officially and proactively notify applicants of additional processing requirements unless the qualifying date set by the Department (CA/VO/F/I) encompasses the alien’s priority date. Otherwise, it is likely that some documents would be out-of date by the time a visa number is available and delay in final action would result. An immigrant visa is also considered available for provisional submission of the immigrant visa application on Form DS 230 based on a provisional priority date without reference to current priority date. No provisional submission can be undertaken absent prior approval of the visa petition and only if visas in the preference category have not been exhausted in the fiscal year. Issuance of the immigrant visa for the appropriate category only occurs when there is a current priority date. Nevertheless, should an applicant or agent request information concerning additional processing requirements, this information may be provided at any time with a warning that some documents may expire if obtained too early in the process.

If Congress wanted to ratify what the USCIS had done, it could certainly do so after the fact. Everything that we now consider to be the adjustment of status process could take place before the priority date becomes current. Nothing could be simpler. The reason to seek Congressional modification of INA § 245(a) is not because it is the only way forward but because, by enshrining such a procedural benefit in the INA itself, it will be a much more secure right, one not subject to administrative whim or unilateral repeal.

(The authors thank Marcelo Zambonino, a law student at New York Law School for his assistance with this post.)

TWO H-1B SPOUSES AND ONE LABOR CERTIFICATION: BOTH SPOUSES SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEEK SEVENTH-YEAR H-1B EXTENSIONS UNDER AC21

By Gary Endelman and Cyrus D. Mehta

We post some of the ideas that we have proposed in the forthcoming article, The Tyranny of Priority Dates, http://www.cyrusmehta.com/news.aspx?SubIdx=ocyrus20103925436, on this blog. This post advocates that an H-1B seeking an extension beyond the six years may do so even though the other spouse is the beneficiary of a labor certification.

There is a clear basis in § 106(a) of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (“AC21”) to allow an H-1B spouse to seek an extension of H-1B status beyond six years when the other spouse is the beneficiary of an appropriately filed labor certification. There is no need for two spouses to have their own labor certifications, when only one will be required for both spouses to obtain permanent residence. USCIS must interpret existing ameliorative provisions that Congress has specifically passed to relieve the hardships caused by crushing quota backlogs in a way that reflects the intention behind the law.

On November 2, 2002, the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (“21st Century DOJ Appropriations Act”) took effect and liberalized the provisions of AC21 that enabled nonimmigrants present in the United States in H-1B status to obtain one-year extensions beyond the normal sixth-year limitation. See Pub. L. No. 107–273, 116 Stat. 1758 (2002). The new amendments enacted by the 21st Century DOJ Appropriations Act liberalized AC21 § 106(a) and now permits an H-1B visa holder to extend her status beyond the sixth year if:

1. 365 days or more have passed since the filing of any application for labor certification that is required or used by the alien to obtain status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) § 203(b), or

2. 365 days or more have passed since the filing of an Employment-based immigrant petition under INA § 203(b). Id. (Emphasis added).

Previously, AC21 § 106(a) only permitted one-year extensions beyond the sixth-year limitation if the H-1B nonimmigrant was the beneficiary of an EB petition or an application for adjustment of status and 365 days or more had passed since the filing of a labor certification application or the Employment-based (EB) immigrant petition. See Pub. L. No. 106-313, 114 Stat. 1251 (2000). Even under this more restrictive version of AC21 § 106(a), the Service applied a more liberal interpretation, permitting H-1B aliens to obtain one-year extensions beyond the normal sixth-year limitation where there was no nexus between the previously filed and pending labor certification application or EB immigrant petition and the H-1B nonimmigrant’s current employment. This broad reading was recently affirmed in the Memorandum of William R. Yates, Associate Director for Operations. See William Yates, Interim Guidance for Processing Form I-140 Employment-Based Immigrant Petitions and Form I-485 and H-1B Petitions Affected by the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21) (Public Law 106-313), Memo # USCIS HQPRD 70/6.2.8-P, May 12, 2005 (“Yates Memo”).

If a labor certification was filed on behalf of one spouse, the other should be permitted to benefit from the labor certification application that was filed, and remains pending, on behalf of her husband, because under the liberalized provision of AC21, as amended by the 21st Century DOJ Appropriations Act, “365 days or more have passed since the filing of any application for labor certification.” See Pub. L. No. 107–273, 116 Stat. 1758 (2002). The derivative spouse will use this application upon its approval to obtain status pursuant to INA § 203(b).

The Yates Memo unfortunately suggests that an H-1B spouse must meet all the requirements independently of the H-1B spouse’s eligibility for a seventh-year extension. See Yates Memo at 10. Now, both spouses need to have labor certifications filed on their behalf to obtain the benefit of AC21 § 106(a), which is unnecessary and absurd. The statute itself has more flexibility and speaks of “any application for labor certification…in a case in which certification is required or used by the alien to obtain status under such § 203(b).” See Pub. L. No. 106-313, 114 Stat. 1251, § 106(a) (2000). This interpretation is very much in keeping with spirit of AC21, which is to soften the hardship caused by lengthy adjudications and we certainly have that now with respect to China and India, as well as worldwide EB-3. The current interpretation placed upon AC21 § 106(a) is contrary to the intent of Congress. It is not enough to say that the H-1B spouse for whom a labor certification has not been filed can change to non-working H-4 status. Given the backlogs facing India and China in the EB-2, as well as worldwide EB- 3, it is simply unrealistic and punitive to deprive degreed professionals of the ability to work for years at a time but force them to remain here to preserve their eligibility for adjustment of status.

Finally, the USCIS has also argued that the absence of INA § 203(d) in AC21 § 106(a) - “any application for labor certification that is a required or used by the alien to obtain status under § 203(b).” - suggests that only the principal spouse can immigrate under INA § 203(b) and the derivative needs INA § 203(d). See id. But INA § 203(d) states that the spouse is “entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration provided in the respective subsection (INA § 203(a), § 203(b), or § 203(c)), if accompanying or following to join, the spouse or parent.” See INA § 203(d) [8 U.S.C. § 1153(d) (2006)]. Thus, the derivative spouse still immigrates under INA § 203(b). INA § 203(d), which was introduced by the Immigration Act of 1990 (“IMMACT90”), is essentially superfluous and only confirms that a derivative immigrates with the principal. See Pub. L. No. 101-649, 104 Stat. 4978 (1990). Prior to IMMACT90, there was no predecessor to INA § 203(d), and yet spouses immigrated with the principal. Thus, it is clear that a spouse does not immigrate via INA § 203(d), and the purpose of this provision is merely to confirm that a spouse is given the same order of consideration as the principal under INA § 203(b).


(The authors thank Marcelo Martinez Zambonino, a law student at New York Law School, for his assistance in editing the post.)

GEARING UP FOR FY2011 H-1B FILINGS: USCIS STOPS ALLOWING FILINGS WITH UNCERTIFIED LCAs AND AILA PROTESTS NEUFELD MEMO

In continuation of our previous article, H-1b Update: Filing Date Approaches; Scrutiny At POEs Increases; USCIS Issues H-1B Guidance Under Economic Stimulus, dated February 19, 2010, http://tinylink.com/?7h4K85wN87, USCIS has announced on March 10, 2010, that it will not extend the period in which it temporarily accepted H-1B petitions filed with uncertified labor condition applications (LCAs). Earlier, USCIS explained that due to processing delays associated with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) “iCERT” online filing system, USCIS had responded to requests from the public by temporarily allowing H-1B petitions to be filed with uncertified LCAs. This temporary measure went into effect on November 5, 2009, and expired on March 9, 2010.

USCIS said that as of March 10, 2010, it is rejecting any H-1B petition filed without an LCA certified by the DOL. The announcement is available at http://tinylink.com/?C0bv7HtE1C.

On a separate note, the USCIS refused AILA’s request on March 5, 2010, to extend the “temporary acceptance” for submitting H-1B petitions without certified LCAs due to reports of ongoing delays in the new iCERT system of the DOL. Moreover, the new national prevailing wage determination process system of the DOL is also experiencing delays.

AILA has reminded its members that under the DOL regulations at 20 CFR § 655.731(a)(2), an employer is not required to obtain a prevailing wage determination for an H-1B and may rely on an independent authoritative wage source or other legitimate sources of wage data when filing an LCA. The independent authoritative source must meet all the criteria set forth in paragraph 20 CFR § 655.731(b)(3). H-1B petitioners may rely on DOL’s own prevailing wage data system at http://www.flcdatacenter.com/.

Please note that if an H-1B petition is filed with an uncertified LCA, the USCIS Service Center will reject it outright or issue a Request for Evidence asking for proof of an LCA that was certified prior to submission of the H-1b petition. Such a request will be impossible to comply with and the H-1B petition will likely be denied.

The general feeling is that there is not a big surge in H-1B cap cases to be filed from April 1, 2010, onwards. Note that there continues to exist a five-day filing window from April 1, 2010 – April 7, 2010 (which does not include April 4 & 5 as they fall on the weekend). If the USCIS receives more than 65,000 H-B petitions or more than 20,000 Master’s H-1Bs during the five-day filing period, they will be subject to a randomized lottery. If the USCIS receives less than 65,000 or 20,000 H-1B petitions during this five-day window, then the USCIS will continue to accept H-1B petitions until the H-1B caps are reached. If petitioners are unable to file H-1B petitions by April 1, 2010, they should not get worried so long as the petition reaches the USCIS by April 7, 2010. If by chance, USCIS receives more that the amount of H-1Bs mandated by the 65,000 and 20,000 Master’s H-1B cap, all H-1Bs received between April 1 and 7 will be all considered under the randomized lottery.

In another significant development, AILA on March 19, 2010 sent a Memo to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas and Chief Counsel Roxana Bacon, expressing serious concerns over the Neufeld Memo of January 8, 2010, which re-defines the employer-employee relationship in H-1B petitions, http://tiny.cc/z3ZU8, pertaining to third party placements by emphasizing on the need of the petitioner to demonstrate a right of control of the H-1B at a third party site. The AILA Memo reminds that there already exists a definition of “employer” in 8 CFR § 214.2(h)(4)(ii), which provides as follows:

United States employer means a person, firm, corporation, contractor, or other association, or organization in the United States which:

(1) Engages a person to work within the United States;
(2) Has an employer-employee relationship with respect to employees under this part, as indicated by the fact that it may hire, pay, fire, supervise, or otherwise control the work of any such employee; and
(3) Has an Internal Revenue Service Tax identification number.

Based on the definition of an employer in the regulation, the AILA Memo points out that the Neufeld Memo adds additional requirements for determining the employer-employee relationship that are not found in the regulatory definition, which encompasses “hire, pay, fire, supervise, or otherwise control the work of any such employee.” Also, both the DOL in the context of H-1B dependent employers, 20 CFR 655.738, and Congress have recognized third-party placement, particularly when Congress restricted third party L-1B placements in 2004, it was the intent of Congress that such placements were more appropriate for the H-1B visa. The AILA Memo also highlights the unintended consequences of the Neufeld Memo, which affects industries other than IT consulting, most notably hospitals and physicians, who by law are not allowed to work for hospitals with non-physician ownership, and are petitioned for H-1B visas by separate subsidiaries of hospitals, whose sole purpose is to employ the physicians who work at the particular medical facility where the day-to-day duties are performed. These arrangements too, according to the AILA Memo, will not pass the test set forth in the Neufeld Memo. The AILA Memo also focuses on the economic harm that the Neufeld Memo would cause by pointedly stating: “The [Neufeld] Memo comes at a moment when government agencies should be implementing policies that encourage investment and innovation in the U.S., and creating conditions in which such businesses can flourish and increase employment here. Yet the Neufeld Memo creates serious roadblocks to such economic growth, in particular by increasing the burdens of small businesses and technology companies.” The AILA Memo correctly observes that IT staffing and consulting companies constitute a legitimate industry in the U.S., and “the way in which the Neufeld Memo addresses this industry betrays a lack of understanding of its business model, and as well as a total disregard for the realities of the employer-employee relationships within the business model.” The AILA Memo adds that U.S. businesses large and small, as well as government agencies, rely on IT firms for system development work as well as for staff augmentation. It is hoped that the USCIS will withdraw the Neufeld Memo. Finally, the AILA Memo cites examples of how the misguided "right of control" standard has adversely impacted adjudications in the L visa and EB-1-3 I-140 context where a President of a multinational corporation received a denial on the ground that the beneficiary owned the majority of the shares of a corporation and that no one supervised the beneficiary's work. The full AILA Memo can be found here, http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=31592

In the meantime, though, petitioners gearing up for filing H-1Bs on April 1, 2010 onwards, especially if their business model is based on third party placements, should continue to pay heed to the Neufeld Memo’s criteria establishing the employer-employee relationship, See From Problem To Springboard: Tips on Using the Neufeld Memorandum in Support of H-1B Petitions, http://tinylink.com/?zCbaXGsvHb

KAZARIAN V. USCIS: DISCREDITING THE CIRCULARITY ARGUMENT IN EB-1 PETITIONS

The recent decision in Kazarian v. USCIS, --- F.3d ----, 2010 WL 725317 (C.A.9 (Cal.)), http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/opinions/view_subpage.php?pk_id=0000010327, goes a long way in discrediting the circularity argument that the USCIS often deploys to shoot down petitions filed under the extraordinary ability category (EB-1). Even though the petitioner lost in this case, the new re-issued decision is still a victory for those who wish to seek green cards as persons or extraordinary ability or as outstanding professor or researchers.

Kazarian essentially holds that a petitioner claiming extraordinary ability need not submit extraordinary evidence to prove that he or she is a person of extraordinary ability. If one of the evidentiary criteria requires a showing of scholarly publications, the petitioner need not establish that the scholarly publications in themselves are also extraordinary in order to qualify as a person of extraordinary ability. This is a circular argument, which Kazarian appropriately shot down.

All credit goes to my friend and colleague, Bernie Wolfsdorf, AILA’s current President, who decided to take on this hopeless case pro bono after it was first denied in 2009. Nobody thought that the Ninth Circuit panel would even agree to review the case again. This writer is proud to have been part of an informal group of lawyers who occasionally assisted with thoughts and ideas on the amicus brief, which Nadine Wettstein, so adroitly crafted on behalf of the American Immigration Council. The whole purpose of seeking review of the decision was not to overturn the denial, but to request the Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit to remove, or rather discredit, the circular reasoning of the USCIS with respect to accepting evidence to prove extraordinary ability that was not required by the regulation. We believed that by removing this reasoning in Kazarian, it would give the USCIS Service Centers less ammunition to deny EB-1 petitions by rejecting evidence that can otherwise prove that one is a person of extraordinary ability.

As background, an individual can establish extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation. See INA § 203(b)(1)(A)(i). Furthermore, the individual seeks entry to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability and his or her entry will substantially benefit prospectively the U.S. See INA § 203(b)(1)(A)(ii) & (iii). No job offer is required. Evidence to demonstrate “sustained national or international acclaim” could be a one-time achievement such as a major international award (for example, a Nobel Prize, Oscar or Grammy). If the applicant is not the recipient of such an award then documentation of any three of the following is sufficient:

1. Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards.

2. Membership in an association in the field for which classification is sought, which requires outstanding achievement of its members, as judged by recognized national or international experts.

3. Published material about the person in professional or major trade publications or other major media.

4. Participation as a judge of the work of others.

5. Evidence of original scientific, scholastic, artistic, athletic or business-related contributions of major significance.

6. Authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional or major trade publications or other media.

7. Artistic exhibitions or showcases.

8. Performance in a leading or cultural role for organizations or establishments that have a distinguished reputation.

9. High salary or remuneration in relation to others in the field.

10. Commercial success in the performing arts.

See 8 CFR § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). An applicant may also submit comparable evidence if the above standards do not readily apply.

In Kazarian, the main bone of contention was what constitutes “authorship of scholarly articles in the field.” In the original decision, Kazarian v. USCIS, 580 F.3d 1030 (Kazarian 1), the Ninth Circuit agreed with the Appeals Administrative Office (AAO) that “publication of scholarly articles is not automatically evidence of sustained acclaim; we must consider the research community’s reaction to those articles.” The Court in Kazarian 1 acknowledged that this reasoning “may be circular, because publication, on its own, indicates approval within the community.” However, the Court went on to justify the AAO’s circular reasoning probably unmindful of the adverse impact that it would have for future EB-1 petitioners, “Because postdoctoral candidates are expected to publish, however, the agency’s conclusion that the articles must be considered in light of the community’s reaction is not contrary to the statutory mandate that the alien have achieved “sustained national or international acclaim.” (citation omitted).

It was precisely this reasoning that the petitioner Kazarian’s new brief, along with the amicus brief of the American Immigration Council attacked, on the ground that it was inconsistent with the governing regulation, 8 CFR § 204.5(h)(3)(vi), which simply states, “Evidence of the alien’s authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional or major trade publications or other major media.” The regulation does not require consideration of the research community’s reaction to those articles, which was essentially an invention of the USCIS.

Fortunately, the new decision in Kazarian acknowledged the AAO’s faulty reasoning, which Kazarian 1 affirmed, and the following extract from the decision is worth noting: “The AAO’s conclusion rests on an improper understanding of 8 CFR § 204.5(h)(3)(vi). Nothing in that provision requires a petitioner to demonstrate the research community’s reaction to his published articles before those articles can be considered as evidence, and neither USCIS nor the AAO may unilaterally impose novel substantive or evidentiary requirements beyond those set forth at 8 CFR § 204.5. "

It is hoped that the USCIS pays heed to the Kazarian court’s admonition of its flawed circularity analysis and stops insisting on evidence that has no basis in its own regulations. Deserving petitioners claiming extraordinary ability who benefit the United States ought to be able to gain permanent residence without jumping through needless hoops and hurdles.. And if the USCIS does not relent, petitioners should continue to discredit the government’s circularity argument. In addition to Kazarian, other federal district courts have been critical. See Buletini v. INS, 860 F. Supp. 1222 (E.D. Mich. 1994)(criticizing the government’s circular argument requiring that “plaintiff must prove he is a doctor of extraordinary ability in order to prove that he is a doctor of extraordinary ability”); Gülen v. Chertoff, Civil Action No. 07-2148, 2008 WL 2779001 (E.D. Pa. July 16, 2008), at *4 (“Because Gülen has met the requirements of three of the subcategories of 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3), the AAO’s determination that he has not demonstrated extraordinary ability is contrary to applicable law and must be reversed”). Kazarian is a step in the right direction, following on the heels of equally critical lower federal court decisions on circularity, and will also benefit another important community so vital to this country, outstanding professors and researchers, who can also claim permanent residence through another provision of EB-1, INA § 203(b)(1))(B), where the evidentiary criteria with extraordinary ability overlap.










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