Navigating EB-1A Challenges: How You Can Leverage Comparable Evidence

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By: Hailey Sylvander and Hannah Welbourn Demonstrating extraordinary ability can be tricky — especially when a candidate’s work doesn’t check the exact boxes that USCIS looks for. This is where “comparable evidence” comes into play. USCIS states that comparable evidence is applicable when the criteria does not align with the candidate's occupation, while also noting that if their occupation is more industry focused, using comparable evidence in the criterion’s stead is more appropriate. This is especially important for emerging industries in which a more “traditional” category may not apply. For instance, an applicant may not have ever appeared in a major trade publication or won an internationally recognized award, but they can submit alternative documentation that is similar in nature. Essentially, even if ...

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Unlocking the NIW Path: How Artists in Unique Fields Can Qualify

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By: Shela Ward & Hannah Welbourn It may come as a surprise that the EB-2 NIW visa applies to more than professionals in technical roles; it can also apply to professionals in the arts. As long as their work benefits the U.S. national interest, and they have met the requirements for the three-prong test, artists of multiple mediums can make a compelling case for an NIW by providing solid evidence of their past contributions and outlining their future plans. Park is prepared for these unique cases in which an artist could qualify for an NIW by demonstrating how their work will benefit the U.S. on a broader level, particularly in the fields of cultural enrichment or educational advancement. For example, we recently ...

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Supervised Recruitment

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By: Jeff Wunsch and Angela Ladisla The Department of Labor periodically requests job ads to be posted using specific media outlets, typically a series of online job boards and trade journals. These cases are referred to as 'supervised recruitment.’ The DOL provides specific instructions regarding the ad text, the media outlets to be used, and the duration/length of the ads. Supervised recruitment is more thorough and requires more attention/monitoring than the standard recruitment process. This requires a draft advertisement of the job opportunity submitted to the DOL within 30 days of posting. We say it is crucial that you must be attentive to every detail (especially the requested start date/posting period) and work closely with the Park Project Manager handling the case. Park ...

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SWA Site Outages

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By: Lauren Ray Anything that interrupts recruitment can be a headache. Our team does their best to lessen the impact of unexpected situations like SWA outages. Through this post, you’ll get a glimpse of how Park deals with these situations. What are SWAs? State Workforce Agency websites are run by each individual state. Job openings are posted and advertised on these platforms. As a part of the PERM process, it is required by the DOL to post on a SWA site for a minimum of 30 days. What does it mean when a SWA site is down? When a SWA site goes down, it means that it is inaccessible. Sometimes the site is down for maintenance, other times they’ve gone down due to cyber attacks ...

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Wage Transparency Information for States that Require Salary in Ad Texts

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By: Rachel von Habsburg Wage transparency is legislation introduced at the state level to ensure fair practice of sharing employee compensation. Posting salaries and how pay decisions are made ensures workplace equity among potential applicants and current employees. The language required varies from state to state, and Park stays up to date on any new pay transparency laws that are enacted. California is a great example of a state that currently enforces wage transparency for open job postings to the public. They require that employers with 15 or more employees must include a pay scale for job postings. Park quality checks all the ad text received by our clients to ensure that they are compliant with these regulations. For example, ...

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Overcoming H-1B Challenges for Highly Educated Beneficiaries: How Specialized Graduate Studies Can Strengthen Your Case

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By: Maddie Carlson Challenges imposed on H-1B petitions can cause quite a headache, especially when a beneficiary is clearly overqualified to perform the responsibilities of their proffered role. While boasting higher-level graduate studies can be to the benefit of a beneficiary in many cases, the basic verbiage surrounding what they completed their studies in can sometimes be to their detriment. When it comes to fulfilling degree requirements for highly educated beneficiaries, Park has resources tailored to properly represent your client. With over 20,000 petitions being filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a Master’s degree or higher annually, proving your clients’ ability to fulfill the academic requirements of their offered job roles can become quite tricky. This is especially true ...

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Misprinted Ads

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By: Abigail Heffner When Park advises newspapers that an advertisement is ready and approved to run, we send them the approved proof and exact wording of the ad needing to run. We also require that newspaper vendors send us a firm confirmation that the ad has been placed. However, vendor actions are beyond our control, and unfortunately, there are times when an ad runs incorrectly or not at all. This can occur for a few reasons. Sometimes, there is simply human error, and newspaper contacts forget to submit the ad for placement on their end. Other times, there is a separate layout department that makes unapproved changes to make the ad fit on the page. If the ad didn't run at all, ...

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Rural Area Recruitment

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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 ...

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