By: Hali Francis

One hurdle faced with PERM Recruitment is finding print options in rural areas, as these areas often have limited advertising options. At Park, we approach rural areas with a comprehensive search.

The U.S. Census Bureau does not provide a definition for “rural,” but it does state that rural areas include all geographic areas that are not classified as urban. Urban areas are classified as densely developed territory and include residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. Each area must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 people to be considered urban. Small towns that fall outside of those requirements can otherwise be considered rural.

For example, we had a client who needed to advertise in Potter County, South Dakota, where the population is only 2,300 people. We started by looking at the newspapers local to the area of advertisement and found the Potter County News, a paper that prints on Thursdays. We expanded the search and contacted the local library, which confirmed they only receive the Potter County News and another local paper with only weekday print.

For every case in a new location, the Park team checks the Metropolitan (or Micropolitan) Statistical Area for papers that are appropriate for a wider area, but many rural locations are not part of any statistical area, which was the case for Potter County.

We then contacted all the nearby Sunday or weekend papers, including Aberdeen News and Argus Leader, to confirm we had all the options, but none of the weekend papers had any circulation in Potter County.

For this and many other rural locations, our clients have chosen to advertise two weekdays in the highest circulating weekday paper in lieu of the Sunday paper or used a Saturday or weekend print when that option is available. If clients are unsure how to proceed based on the options in a location, we encourage them to check or post on AILA so other attorneys who may have similar recruitments can give them feedback.

At Park, our goal is to gather all the information needed for our clients to be capable of advertising in any location. We have successfully helped our clients navigate advertising in many areas, including some of the most rural counties in the United States. We look at this as a challenge, and we are well equipped to help our clients get through in the PERM process.

Written by: Hailey Sylvander

Have you ever had a time when you believed your client exhibited extraordinary ability, but the evidence just wasn’t quite there? Maybe the evidence just did not match up perfectly with what USCIS is typically looking for, or maybe you had minimal evidence that needed to be used for more than one criterion… If so, how do you handle this?

Park Evaluations recently handled an O-1A letter in the field of equity research that dealt with this very problem. The petitioner wanted the following criteria to be discussed: original contributions, leading or critical role; authorship of scholarly articles; published material about the candidate; membership; and salary. However, some criteria proved to be more challenging in terms of satisfying the surfacing evidentiary problems: membership, published material, and salary. Simply, the evidence either had to be relied upon in more than one place, the occupation of the candidate did not align properly with the U.S. Bureau or Labor categories, or there was merely limited evidence.

So, how did Park Evaluations navigate this problem? Below, we break everything down by each specific criteria addressed in the letter to demonstrate the steps one of our experts took to meet the evidentiary challenges head-on.

Membership: For this criterion, the evidence provided was for only one example of membership with very little information on the association, spurring the expert to reshape their argument and formulate this section in a way that showed such membership to be exceptionally impressive and greatly significant to the adjudicator at USCIS. Specifically, the expert looked into the association itself, and they found what the candidate was responsible for as a member of this association in detail. Plainly, the aim here was to convey that the work the candidate was doing with the association was shaping and furthering their field and, therefore, was extraordinary.

Published Material About the Candidate: Similarly, when it came to published material about the candidate, there were very few examples and minimal evidence provided. The two articles the petitioner wanted the expert to rely upon echoed the same information about the extraordinary ability of the candidate twice over. Because of this repetition, the expert decided to directly quote just one of the two sources, choosing the publication that appeared more impressive, and which held more renown. The expert also chose to not be redundant in their explanation of both articles, taking a slightly different angle in describing the information conveyed in each. In addition to how the expert aimed to convey that the sources cited the impressive nature of the candidate and their work experience, the expert also worked to emphasize that these articles were, indeed, referring to the candidate’s work directly, revealing a sense of extraordinary achievement through the candidate’s research in the field.

High Salary or Renumeration: Finally, for the salary criterion, finding a U.S. Bureau of Labor category that was the most analogous to the candidate’s position with a high salary was challenging. In the petition letter, the petitioner chose the occupational category of Equity Research Analyst; however, the expert was unable to find that exact category among those provided by the U.S. Government. This is not because the candidate did not meet the criteria; it is just that sometimes the U.S. Bureau of Labor does not have the exact same occupational category in their lexicon that matches up with what the petition letter articulates. In such cases, instead of matching the occupational categories, it is best to match up the job duties to determine the label the U.S. Government uses for the occupation. Therefore, the expert investigated what exactly the candidate’s position entailed, hoping to find a category among those listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor that had similar duties. As a result of their searching, the expert found the category of Market Research Analyst, which had a lower median annual wage than the candidate’s salary, both nationally and within the state of employment.

Therefore, while the evidence may not have been the strongest at face value, Park Evaluations was, nonetheless, able to provide a strong letter and help get the case approved. This was done through the skilled crafting of logical arguments and strategically finding alternative ways to support the claims and evidence provided.

So, if you are ever concerned about the evidence that your case has in regard to extraordinary ability, know that Park Evaluations can find a way to make the evidence work and satisfy the USCIS criteria. Feel free to reach out to [email protected] for your next case.

By: Samantha Collins

The Department of Labor and the PERM process have distinct recruitment requirements for professional and non-professional job positions, primarily based on educational criteria.

Professional Jobs:
These roles require at least a Bachelor’s degree and involve a more comprehensive recruitment process compared to non-professional positions.

Required Advertising:

  1. Newspaper Ads:
    Place ads on two different Sundays in a widely circulated newspaper within the area of intended employment. The publication should be suitable for reaching qualified U.S. workers for the specific occupation.
    • For rural areas without a Sunday edition, use the newspaper with the widest circulation in that region.
  2. Job Order:
    Post a job order with the State Workforce Agency (SWA) serving the area of intended employment for 30 days.

Additional Recruitment Methods (Choose three from the following popular options):

Examples:

  1. Senior Software Engineer II in Chicago, Illinois – Requires a Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of experience, or alternatively a Master’s degree and 3 years of experience:
    One potential route for this advertisement with Park could include:
    • Two Sunday ads in the Chicago Tribune.
    • One weekday ad in the Chicago Sun-Times.
    • A 30-day online posting on Jobvertise.
    • Two radio spots on WIND 560 AM.
    • A 30-day posting on the Illinois State Workforce Agency website.
  2. Senior Strategic Marketing Manager in Cincinnati, Ohio – Requires a Master’s degree and 5 years of experience, or alternatively a Bachelor’s degree and 8 years of experience:
    One potential route for this advertisement with Park could include:
    • Two Sunday ads in the Cincinnati Enquirer and a 30-day online posting on their job board.
    • One weekday ad in the Cincinnati Business Courier.
    • Two radio spots on WKRC.
    • A 30-day posting on the Ohio SWA site.

Non-Professional Jobs:
These roles do not require a Bachelor’s degree and involve a simpler recruitment process.

Required Advertising:

  1. Newspaper Ads:
    Place ads on two different Sundays in a widely circulated newspaper within the area of intended employment. The publication should be suitable for reaching qualified U.S. workers for the specific occupation.
    • For rural areas without a Sunday edition, use the newspaper with the widest circulation in that region.
  2. Job Order:
    Post a job order with the State Workforce Agency (SWA) serving the area of intended employment for 30 days.

Examples:

  1. Nanny in Washington, DC – No education requirement:
    • Two Sunday ads in the Washington Post.
    • A 30-day posting on the Washington DC State Workforce Agency site.
  2. Truck Driver in Fresno, CA – No education requirement:
    • Two Sunday ads in the Fresno Bee.
    • A 30-day posting on the California SWA site.

If you have any questions or would like a quote, feel free to reach out to [email protected] for your next case.

By: Howard Borenstein

I would like to devote this blog post to discussing the “research only” Ph.D. programs. The impetus for this is that over the past month, we have received two RFE’s specifically on Greek Ph.D. programs claiming that a Ph.D. from Greece was not equivalent to a Ph.D. in the US. This is despite the fact that Greece only offers research-based and not classroom-based Ph.D. programs. AACRAO EDGE is clear that the Ph.D. degree from Greece is indeed equivalent to an earned doctorate in the United States.

The nature of the challenges I have seen, in my opinion, reveals USCIS’ specific understanding of higher education. Namely, that a bachelor’s must be four years, a master’s two years, and all education from grade school to doctoral level is completed in a “school,” as in a brick-and-mortar building with rooms and physical chalk. This reflects, of course, a strong US-centered bias.

Specifically, regarding Ph.D. degrees, it’s important to realize that not all legitimate Ph.D. programs are classroom-based. There are, in fact, many “doctorate by thesis” programs all over the world, including the United States. Of course, in some countries, such as Italy and Greece, research-only programs are the only avenues for a Ph.D., with no classroom-based programs available. In these programs, the candidate prepares and defends a thesis to an expert, showing mastery of a given field of knowledge, whereby the candidate is then awarded a Ph.D. if that expert thinks the thesis is sufficiently advanced. This model was actually the dominant model for earning a Ph.D. for many years. Doctoral candidates submitted their research to a noted expert, and if it were deemed worthy of review and then considered noteworthy enough, the candidate would be awarded a Ph.D.

This system has not really changed all that much within Ph.D. programs in the United States. Ph.D. students typically complete one to two years of classroom instruction leading to the completion of several qualifying examinations to confirm a certain basic knowledge of the field. But once this is completed, these students typically pursue high-level research on their own, seeking out faculty advisors to work on a particular thesis topic. Typically, for at least two to three years, the Ph.D. candidate will not be taking any more classroom instruction but will continue their research, collaborating with other experts in the field, culminating in a final thesis. As such, most of the Ph.D. cycle in the United States currently is actually “research-only,” as it is assumed that at the Ph.D. level, students don’t need the day-to-day supervision and instruction of a classroom and are competent enough to branch out on their own and perform their own research with the skills to evaluate and understand the high-level, peer-reviewed literature of their field.

In fact, Albert Einstein himself only received his Ph.D. after submitting his thesis to a professor at the University of Zurich, since the university he attended years earlier was an “ETH” program and, at the time, was not allowed to award Ph.D. degrees. Interestingly enough, his body of work that finally convinced Professor Alfred Kleiner to award Einstein his Ph.D. was not his theory of relativity but his work on determining the size of various molecular radii, which, despite getting Einstein his Ph.D., is probably what he is least known for. Physicists thought at the time the theory of relativity was too strange to consider. Werner Heisenberg years later had been said to quip about some of Einstein’s theories: “it isn’t that his theory is strange, the problem is that it might not be strange enough,” which is a statement that might sum up most of 21st-century physics.

In sum, there are many paths to getting a Ph.D., and alternate paths should not be devalued. Rather, there are, in fact, many different models practiced around the world and even within the United States. They may be less well-known than the traditional classroom model but are no less valued and no less equivalent to a U.S. Ph.D. In fact, outside of the United States, these alternate programs based entirely on research and scholarly writing are quite common in England, Greece, South Africa, and other areas. As we have seen, USCIS challenges these credentials regardless, so it is incredibly important to include an accurate and reliable evaluation when submitting them with your petition.

As such, regardless of whether or not the candidate’s Ph.D. has a classroom component, the Ph.D. degree is considered equivalent to an earned doctorate in the United States. Our country may have a bias toward systems that include some kind of coursework as part of their model, but coursework is NOT a requirement for a Ph.D. A Ph.D. only requires a thesis or published material demonstrating mastery and original research in a given body of knowledge and nothing more.

Of course, one final caveat is that I am not referring to “post-doctoral” degrees or “professional Ph.D.’s”. Those are typically not equivalent to Ph.D. degrees, but that is a separate topic we will discuss in a future post. In the meantime, don’t wait to reach out to us at [email protected] or give us a call at 212-581-8877 if you have a Ph.D. you need evaluated!

By: Nikki Ummell

In recent months, Park Evaluations demonstrated unparalleled versatility and efficiency, particularly as we approached the bustling H-1B season. While we are known for our exceptional credential evaluations, expert opinion letters, and PERM recruitment services, a recent translation project showcased our ability to provide holistic solutions to complex immigration cases. 

The Challenge: A Multifaceted Translation Project 

A prominent law firm, in collaboration with a Fortune 500 company, faced the daunting task of facilitating the sale of a subsidiary, necessitating the translation of over 1,000 pages of critical business and legal documents from twelve different languages. This project was not just about translating content; it required a nuanced understanding of legal terminologies and business concepts across various jurisdictions. 

Our Solution: A Full-Service Approach 

Recognizing the multifaceted nature of this project, Park Evaluations mobilized its full spectrum of services to address the challenge head-on. Our translations team swiftly embarked on the translation task, delivering certified translations in less than a week—a significant achievement given the three-week deadline. This rapid turnaround, our fastest to date for such a voluminous project, highlighted our commitment to efficiency and excellence. 

The Impact: 

By employing a holistic approach, Park Evaluations not only facilitated the timely completion of the sale but also ensured that all immigration-related aspects of the transaction were handled with the utmost care and professionalism. Our ability to offer a full suite of services under one roof significantly simplified the process for our client, demonstrating our value as a one-stop solution for immigration law services. 

Engage with Us: 

Are you facing a complex immigration case? Let Park Evaluations simplify the process for you. Contact us at [email protected] for your next quote translation+ evaluation request, as we’re here to provide comprehensive solutions tailored to your unique challenges. 

Krystal Alanis, Partner at Reddy and Neuman PC

We all know that the PERM Process can be a long and daunting path to US citizenship. One of Park’s own, Emily Yam Grant, recently consulted  with Krystal Alanis, Partner at Reddy & Neumann, P.C., to get a better understanding of the details, timing, and amazing legal work immigration attorneys undertake to get candidates to the finish line. Not all heroes wear capes!

Q: Can you give a general overview of the PERM Labor Certification process?

There are typically three steps to the employment-based green card process: PERM Labor Certification, I-140 Immigrant Petition, and I-485 Adjustment of Status from non-immigrant status to that of a legal permanent resident or apply for a green card at a U.S. consulate abroad.

Most EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications require that a U.S. employer obtain a PERM Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The PERM process aims to protect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers and helps ensure that U.S. workers will not be displaced. Therefore, an employer sponsoring a foreign worker for permanent employment must first adequately test the U.S. labor market for “able, willing, qualified, and available” U.S. workers. 

The PERM Labor Certification process is usually the biggest obstacle to overcome because the process is lengthy, involves multiple steps, and requires careful strategizing to avoid mistakes that could lead to denial of the application. The fundamental steps of the PERM process include: Establishing the job description and minimum requirements for the job opportunity, obtaining a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD), conducting recruitment, and adjudication of the PERM application by the DOL.

Q: As a service, Park handles the posting of recruitment efforts (advertisements) for clients. Can you explain why recruitment is necessary for this process and what it entails?

Conducting recruitment is crucial to the PERM labor certification process. Employers must test the U.S. labor market for “able, willing, qualified, and available” U.S. workers. If no such workers are found, only then can an employer file a PERM application on behalf of a foreign national on ETA Form 9089. This process is necessary to help ensure that U.S. workers will not be adversely impacted by hiring a foreign worker into a permanent position.

As part of the recruitment process, employers are required to post mandatory advertisements for the job opportunity. For example, the employer is required to post two Sunday print advertisements in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment and a 30-day job order with the appropriate State Workforce Agency (SWA). The employer must also post a Notice of Filing for 10 consecutive business days at the work location. Additionally, if the position is for a professional occupation, the employer is required to post at least three other forms of recruitment (the DOL provides a list of 10 forms to choose from). Due to regulatory timelines, it will take employers a minimum of 60 days to complete recruitment. However, the recruitment process frequently exceeds this 60-day period due to various factors.

Employers must ensure that evidence of the advertisements is properly documented based on regulatory standards. Posting advertisements correctly and for the required period of time is of utmost importance. To further complicate the matter, PERM advertisements are only valid for 180 days and the validity of the PWD must be taken into account when determining when a PERM application can be filed. Mistakes during the recruitment process can lead to missed filing deadlines or denial of the PERM application in the event of an audit. 

Q: What factors can an employer consider when determining whether an applicant is qualified for the position?

Once recruitment begins, employers may start to receive resumes from applicants. Employers are only allowed to reject U.S. workers for lawful job related reasons. The following are examples of lawful job related reasons for rejection:

Q: PERM processing delays are no secret and have caused a major impact on employers and their employees. What can be done to minimize delays from the Employer/Employee perspective?

Over the last few years, processing times for PWDs and PERM applications have drastically increased. This has caused major setbacks for both employers and their employees. Unfortunately, the DOL does not offer premium processing. Nevertheless, there are some proactive steps that employers can take to minimize delays, including: starting recruitment while the PWD is pending, ensuring the PERM application is submitted error free, becoming familiar with audit triggers, and being prepared to respond to an audit promptly and properly.

Q: What are some PERM audit triggers employers should be aware of in order to minimize the risk of receiving a PERM audit?

The DOL issues 2 types of audits: Random and Targeted. The DOL’s random selection process makes it impossible to entirely avoid the chance of an audit. The DOL can also issue targeted audits that are triggered by certain aspects of the PERM application. In such cases, the DOL may request additional information and documentation directly related to the triggering issue. Although audit triggers can change based on a variety of factors, here are a few to consider:

Q: As a service, Park provides a Business Necessity letter from a professional evaluator to supplement an employer’s business necessity statement. You stated that an employer’s minimum requirements for the sponsored position that exceed what is normal for the position can trigger a business necessity audit. Can you elaborate on the specifics of a business necessity audit?

While the DOL may issue a business necessity audit for various reasons, the most common cause is when the minimum requirements exceed what is “normal” for the occupation or if the job requirements exceed the SVP level assigned to the occupation. Simply put, SVP refers to the amount of time required to perform in the position, taking into consideration education, experience, and training.

To establish a business necessity, an employer must demonstrate that the job duties and requirements bear a reasonable relationship to the occupation in the context of the employer’s business and are essential to perform the job in a reasonable manner. To respond to this type of audit, an employer can, for example, provide detailed evidence of the employer’s type of business, complexity of the position, industry standard (job postings with similar requirements), contract requirements, demanding client expectations, and prior hiring practices. The employer’s statement can be enhanced by including an expert opinion (Business Necessity Letter) from a professional evaluator.

Q: Generally, what are your top 3 recommendations for employers starting the PERM Labor Certification process for the first time?

By: Hailey Sylvander

We recently facilitated an interesting expert opinion letter for one of our clients’ National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions. The beneficiary worked in mechanical engineering and robotics, specifically as it applies to biotechnology – a field with countless benefits to the United States, its economy, and its society.

While demonstrating the national importance of this work would not normally be a challenge for our experts, the stated endeavor at the heart of this petition carried a strong focus on the beneficiary’s work for the petitioning company. And supporting a “proposed endeavor” that is employer-focused does require extra care, as USCIS often does, and most likely would here, quibble with equating an endeavor that benefits an employer with an endeavor benefitting the U.S.

In fact, we’ve seen RFEs challenging this exact question be issued more frequently. So for this case, Park was able to work with our experts to approach a more employer-centric endeavor and draw a “national importance” argument out of it. We accomplished this with a couple of  strategic steps:

  1. Find what the employer was working on, is working on, or plans to work on that is particularly important to the United States;
  2. Determine which of the employer’s goals and projects the candidate has, is, or would work on that would benefit the United States;  
  3. Explain in detail these projects and goals, highlighting how they would benefit the United States; and
  4. Focus on and stress the particular areas of benefit that connect to the candidate’s proposed endeavor, work history, and academic background.

In the NIW opinion letter discussed above, our expert looked to what this American biotech company was working on or had accomplished that was particularly important to the United States, reviewing the petition’s documents and researching the company’s offerings. Based on the company’s goals and projects, a clear case could be made that the candidate’s work would benefit U.S. society through improving the country’s health security and its bioeconomy. More specifically, these areas of benefit were chosen after we had found certain company projects and engineering work through research on the company’s website, press releases, and major media articles. Our expert opinion letter went on to explain these projects in more detail, highlighting the benefits to U.S. sustainability efforts and to Americans’ health in the process, particularly during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Overall, our goal was to show that, while working here, the candidate would be working to better the nation, since the company has a history of and a penchant for doing so. Of course, it should be stressed that we ensured that we did not just cite the company itself when discussing these projects because we never want credibility to be an issue with adjudicators at USCIS. Instead, it was critical to incorporate corroborating third-party sources, such as major media articles, that discussed some of the company’s projects and successes in order to stress both the verity and impact of the works mentioned in the letter. The result was a strong expert opinion that’ll act as a key part of this important petition going forward.

NIW approval rates are high, but as we all know, each case can and will present its own challenges. At Park, solving those challenges is what we do best.

By: Howard Borenstein

In a 2020 development, India’s University Grants Commission approved a change in duration for the Indian Master of Computer Applications (MCA) degree— the MCA was shortened to a two-year program.

This update is significant as students have now completed and are graduating from this new program. Formerly spanning three years of study, the program has transitioned to a two-year structure, starting with the class of 2020-21. The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) stated the decision was prompted by a decrease in enrollment of students coming from backgrounds not related to Computer Science, such as Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry. When the program was first introduced in the late ‘90s, the first-year prepared students with principles such as the basics of coding. Now, most students pursuing an MCA already have this knowledge and do not need the introductory year, leading to the shortened curriculum. As a result of this change, AACRAO has reviewed the updated program structure and revised their credential advice.

Park Evaluations has reviewed the program structure and AACRAO’s updated guidance and has decided to change how we evaluate MCA degrees.  Previously, Park Evaluations equated completion of this program to a US Masters of Applied Computer Science if the candidate also provided evidence of completion of an underlying three-year baccalaureate degree. Park Evaluations will now be evaluating MCA degrees utilizing the following guidance:

– 3 year MCA’s will continue to be deemed equivalent to Masters of Applied Science degree in the US

– Park will be able to perform a single-source evaluation for PERM petitions that includes Masters level equivalence for 3 year MCA’s.

– 2-year MCA’s will be evaluated as equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in the United States.

As a result of this change, Park Evaluations will need to see transcripts for contemporary MCA degrees so that we can properly determine whether the new 2-year or the legacy 3-year MCA program was completed. Do you still have questions as to how this change impacts your clients?  Feel free to email us at [email protected] or give us a call at 212-581-8877.

By: Annika Minton

When the United States military withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in August of 2021, thousands of Afghan civilians were left seeking asylum in the U.S. Around 5,000 Afghan asylum-seekers arrived in the states in September of 2021, hoping for a smooth, quick approval process—unfortunately, the wait time for a response on an asylum-seeker’s claim is between two to six years.

Some law firms took this opportunity to help these Afghans in need and are continuing their pro bono work to help them fill out their EAD (employee authorization documents) extensions and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) applications, which would allow them to continue to work in the United States while waiting for their asylum case to be adjudicated.

While law firms initially filed the I-589 form (the application for asylum) for Afghan asylum-seekers, the lengthy wait time to earn asylum status is where the TPS and EAD extensions come in. If they haven’t gotten a response on their claim by the time their EAD expires, then the TPS must be filed to extend their protected status while they wait for their application to be processed. The cycle of getting statuses extended continues until they are finally granted asylum status.

As one can imagine, asylum-seekers are required to provide a lot of documentation for the government to file and verify before they are granted asylum in the United States; but when they come from a non-English speaking country, all those documents need to be translated to English first.

Park is supporting AM500 law firms with pro bono translations to help these asylum-seekers get their EAD extended so they can continue to work and make a living while they wait (potentially for several years) for their case to be adjudicated and be granted asylum status.

If you’re an attorney and need support for standard or pro bono translations, don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected] to discuss your case.

Follow Park Evaluations on LinkedIn for future updates.

By Ryan Mernin

Ryan recently caught up with Nancy Shalhub of Ogletree Deakins to discuss the relatively new H-1B lottery and other potential immigration policy changes. This entry in our Attorney Spotlight series continues our focus on emerging challenges and changes in the business immigration world.

Q: What visas does your firm typically handle?

Nancy: Ogletree Deakins has one of the nation’s largest business immigration practices, providing premier immigration services for nearly 28 years. Our largest corporate immigration clients are Fortune 10/50/100 companies with thousands of employees requiring immigration support worldwide. Our most common nonimmigrant visas include H-1Bs, TNs, E-3s, O-1s, L-1s, and H-1B1s.  For all of our clients, we offer comprehensive immigration representation, counsel on internal immigration processes and policies, guidance, development, education, and offer day-to-day support and strategic advice to management, Global Mobility, and human resources (HR) in relation to their immigration programs.

Q: What are the major changes you’ve witnessed in the industry, from the time you began working in business immigration up to the present?

Nancy: Over the years we have experienced constantly changing trends at the rate Requests for Evidence (RFE) have been issued. In the last few years, there was an uptick in RFEs across all visa processes (NIV and IV). As of most recent, under the current administration, we have seen somewhat of a decline in RFEs. Over the years we have also seen an increase in processing times for Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications due to backlogs, as well as EADs (both NIV and AOS). With USCIS’ more recently announced premium processing option for some applications that did not previously qualify for premium processing, this welcome change should bring about positive impact for many applicants that have in the past experienced delays that extended over several months.

Q: How has the (still relatively new) H-1B lottery system impacted your clients? Any predictions for upcoming years, for example whether we’ll continue to see multiple rounds of lottery selections?

Nancy: The H-1B electronic registration process for the H-1B lottery system has been overall a positive change for many clients. Prior to the electronic registration process, clients would wait several months before they knew whether one of their petitions was selected. The electronic registration system has allowed clients the opportunity to better plan with their foreign national population, alongside the business, allowing for smoother transitions and more visibility into the H-1B lottery.  As per multiple rounds of selections, I believe we could continue to see multiple rounds of lottery selections.

Q: Any major policy changes you’d like to see in the coming years?

Nancy: I would like to see continued use of technology as it relates to our petitions and filings. The H-1B electronic registration process is a great example of creating more efficiency due to the integration of new tools and technologies. I believe the use of technology can assist with backlogs, efficiency, consistency, and transparency for both businesses and foreign nationals.

Q: What’s the most rewarding part of being an immigration attorney?

Nancy: Being able to work with our clients and being a small, positive part of their immigration journey is the most rewarding part of being an immigration attorney. As a daughter of immigrants, I understand the obstacles families face and the concerns they might have in relocating to a new country. I am proud to be a trusted advisor and partner to our clients as they navigate the immigration system as well as their immigration programs.

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