What is a Veteran’s Hold, and Why Does it Exist? 

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By: Tais Vilela Ribeiro Quinhones  As Park Advertising continuously monitors updates from State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) across the country, we aim to keep our clients informed about policies that may influence recruitment timelines and compliance processes. One practice that often raises questions is the Veteran’s Hold on SWA job postings.   A Veteran’s Hold is a temporary period, typically lasting between 24 and 72 hours, where a newly posted job is visible only to eligible veterans before it becomes available to the public. This early access allows veterans to view and apply for positions before other job seekers. Veteran’s Holds are connected to the concept of “Priority of Service,” meaning that veterans receive access to employment services earlier than others.  Although priority of service for veterans is federally required, veteran job hold policies are determined at the state level, since there is no federal mandate requiring states to place a ...

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Park: The Perfect Partner for Business Consulting NIWs  

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By Shela Ward  The National Interest Waiver (NIW) can serve as a powerful tool for professionals looking to secure residency via their own consulting business. For these cases, the candidate’s specialized expertise is delivered directly through their business to solve meaningful problems in the US. When paired with a well-structured business plan and an expert letter, an NIW can translate a simple vision into credibility.  Park can help develop strategies for NIWs around a foreign national’s existing business plan. Our expert opinion letters can cultivate a full story that shows how these professionals generate ongoing and far-reaching benefits in the US through their very own consulting business.   In a recent case, Park received a candidate’s business plan to establish a ...

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Beyond Words: What’s in a Name?

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By: Becca Matson "The wife's name is wrong," the lawyer explained. "Can you change it to just her given name?" Our translator's response was immediate and firm: "No, that's not what the document says." What seemed like an error served as an example of why understanding cultural traditions is just as important as linguistic accuracy in legal translation. Legal documents don't exist in a cultural vacuum. They reflect the traditions, practices, and conventions of their source countries. In many parts of India, it's standard practice for a married woman's name to be recorded in civil documents using her husband's given name and/or surname after marriage. To someone unfamiliar with Indian naming traditions, this may look unusual or incorrect. Park’s professional translators understand these cultural contexts. ...

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Transliteration: Understanding the Rules of Spelling

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By: Becca Matson In immigration documentation, the rules of spelling matter enormously. At Park, our professional translators don't just know multiple languages, they understand additional rules and standards that play important roles when converting languages. While reviewing a translated Russian birth certificate, one client had a very specific request: "Can you update the middle name to 'Valerievich' instead of 'Valeryevich'?” The difference between "Valeryevich" and "Valerievich" might seem trivial and like an oddly specific concern. After all, both spellings refer to the same patronymic name. However, in immigration documentation, these details matter immensely. Park’s translator was able to clearly explain; this wasn't about personal preference; it was about aligning with official Russian government standards that have evolved over time. In immigration cases, matching current ...

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No Degree, No Problem: Qualifying for L-1B Blanket Transfers Without a Bachelor’s 

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Shela Ward An L-1B blanket petition can be a powerful, streamlined option for global companies seeking to transfer multiple employees with specialized knowledge to the United States, even if candidates do not hold a bachelor’s degree. Many specialized professionals get their start through vocational training or apprenticeships, and it’s common for them to lack a formal bachelor-level education. While this would normally disqualify them from inclusion in an L-1B blanket petition, their extensive expertise and years of training may provide another pathway: an experience-based bachelor’s degree equivalency. Park’s expert network houses university professors from a wide variety of technical disciplines who specialize in assessing how work experience translates to undergraduate education. L-1B blanket candidates with at least twelve years of progressively responsible ...

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Extraordinary Ability in the Arts: How Park Can Help Get Your EB-1A and O-1B Petitions Approved  

Posted by: Park Evaluations | in ,

By Amy Fredrickson O-1B and EB-1A petitions for candidates in the arts often face increased scrutiny due to the subjective nature of assessing what constitutes “extraordinary ability” in this area. Sufficiently demonstrating extraordinary ability in the arts requires nuanced arguments that speak to niche concepts. Proving the artistic merit and cultural relevance of a contribution, as well as the caliber of an award, helps establish a position within the arts as leading or critical.  Park helps deliver these nuanced arguments for O-1B and arts-related EB-1A petitions through specialty expert letters. We provide support on behalf of applicants in fields ranging from film, television, music, culinary arts, dance, and even graphic design.  We recently supported a cinematographer applying for an O-1B visa. Through a detailed letter, our film expert demonstrated the importance of cinematography for a film’s success. They outlined the candidate’s artistic merits and contributions within the larger industry, picking apart the dynamics of visual storytelling that elevated the beneficiary’s work to “extraordinary ability” level. 

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Translating Hijri and Non-Gregorian Dates at Park

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Becca Matson  Date accuracy matters in immigration filings. Birth certificates, educational diplomas, and employment records all form the foundation of a petition. When dates on these documents are altered or reformatted during translation, risks emerge. USCIS regulations require that translations be "accurate and complete." Therefore, translations must reflect what is written in the original document, including how dates are formatted and presented.  When translating documents from countries that use the Islamic Hijri calendar, including Saudi Arabia, much of the Gulf region, and various Muslim-majority nations, translation vendors face a critical challenge: how to handle dates that don't conform to the Gregorian calendar system used as the US standard.  While some translation services may take shortcuts (i.e. converting Hijri dates to approximate Gregorian equivalents or reformatting dates to match U.S. conventions), the Park team takes a more detailed approach to accurately reflect source ...

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Park’s Four Essential Steps for Handling Imperfect Immigration Documents

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Becca Matson  Identify issues early  Immigration filings frequently include documents that are partially illegible, handwritten, stamped, or damaged. Birth certificates may be decades old and faded. Other documents might bear handwritten annotations. How a translation vendor handles these imperfections can have a significant impact on the record’s integrity and the case’s success.  Park’s process begins with identifying every portion of text that is faint, blurred, obscured, or otherwise questionable. Instead of pushing forward with assumptions, we surface these issues upfront, so attorneys can see exactly where the document may pose challenges.  Translate without guessing Park never reconstructs, interprets, or “fills in” unclear content. If a portion of the source document is illegible or unreadable, we note it in the translation. ...

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