Wage Transparency Law Changes in Virginia and Maine

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By: Tais Araujo Virginia (effective July 1, 2026) and Maine (LD 54, effective July 29, 2026) are the latest states to require salary ranges in job postings, joining a growing list of jurisdictions in the US. For PERM cases, this creates compliance questions that go beyond the state laws themselves. PERM postings already carry a wage requirement tied to the Prevailing Wage Determination. This wage must be consistent across every recruitment source used during the recruitment period. Wage transparency laws add a second, state-specific disclosure requirement on top of the PWD wage requirement, often on the same postings. In practice, salaries can easily become misaligned on different ad postings. Usually, this happens when an employer's standard job board template runs a generic salary ...

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Using Grants and Venture Capital Awards to Satisfy the Awards Criterion in Extraordinary Ability Petitions

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Shela Ward When evaluating evidence for the awards criterion in extraordinary ability petitions, folks often focus on traditional honors, such as industry prizes or competition-based awards. However, limiting this analysis to conventional awards overlooks alternative evidence of recognition. For example, competitive grants, research funding, and venture capital investments are alternative forms of recognition that can serve as compelling evidence for extraordinary ability candidates. These accolades are mostly awarded only after a panel of experts rigorously reviews and assess the proposed work’s innovation and potential impact. They often can showcase how a candidate has received nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence. By understanding the purpose, selection process, and prestige behind these alternative award types, candidates can present valuable evidence ...

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Navigating Curricular and Optional Practical Training Challenges

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Madeline Carlson When it comes to Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT) work authorizations, rejections scrutinizing the alignment between a candidate’s academic coursework and their responsibilities held in a CPT/OPT role can create quite an arduous response process. Whether this challenge arises while the candidate is completing their degree or after they’ve finished it, Park’s experts are eager to assist with the evaluation of this common CPT/OPT challenge. With a diverse catalogue of specialties, Park’s team of expert evaluators are equipped to evaluate candidate academic credentials and their alignment with held CPT/OPT positions. Through this service, our experts provide a close evaluation of a candidate’s academic coursework, providing detailed analysis that connects the skills and concepts taught in those courses directly to the knowledge areas required to perform the duties of their CPT/OPT roles. Our letters can cover one or multiple CPT and OPT positions held, ensuring that a candidate’s work and skillset are properly recognized and defended. For example, one of our computer science experts ...

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SOC Justification Letters: Strengthening Prevailing Wage Responses in the Weighted Lottery Era 

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Nikki Ummel SOC justification letters can serve as strategic tools when preparing or responding to prevailing wage determination challenges, particularly in cases where the position classification may affect a role’s assigned wage level. With the implementation of the H-1B weighted selection process, the accuracy of the Standard Occupational Classification, or SOC, code has become even more important. Since wage levels are tied to the relevant SOC codes and area of intended employment, selecting and defending the proper occupational classification can have a meaningful effect on how a case is evaluated. At Park, we work with expert evaluators to draft SOC justification letters that explain why a particular occupational classification most accurately reflects the position at issue. Our letters review and outline ...

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Defending Scholarly Authorship in RFE Responses

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Amy Fredrickson With the increase in RFE and NOID responses to extraordinary ability petitions, Park and our clients are more frequently encountering pushback to the “authorship of scholarly articles” criterion, such as: The evidence submitted does not qualify as “scholarly”; Using comparable evidence for this criterion is inappropriate in the context of the field. Park’s experts are helping clients navigate responses to these arguments from USCIS. Our professors leverage their understanding of the unique dynamics within their fields to explain why the evidence submitted can be categorized as scholarly and/or why it is appropriate to use comparable evidence for this criterion. For example, in a recent case written by one of Park’s business experts, we helped a client respond to an RFE argument that stated using comparable evidence for the authorship criterion was not appropriate in the context of Marketing and Business Analytics. To respond, our expert outlined the unique attributes of business and marketing disciplines and established that presenting at industry events is an acceptable and necessary application of comparable evidence for scholarly authorship. In another recent ...

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New SWA Platforms: Kentucky, Minnesota, and New Jersey

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By: Tais Araujo and Bruno Nascimento Quick Highlights: Kentucky, Minnesota, and New Jersey have all moved to a new shared SWA platform powered by the National Labor Exchange (NLx). Minnesota's old system will stop accepting postings on June 5, 2026. Existing postings do not transfer automatically, and new postings now go through a 1 to 2 business day review before going live. Each account is tied to a single contact, and third-party agent access is required to manage multiple employers. Multi-factor authentication is now required in Minnesota and available in Kentucky and New Jersey.   Part of Park Advertising's job is to track State Workforce Agency (SWA) changes, so you are never caught off guard. Right now, there is a development worth ...

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Crafting Expert Opinion Letters for Elite Level Athletes: O-1A Visas 

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By: Shela Ward Securing O1-A visas for elite-level athletes demands crafting clear and strategic narratives that effectively translate their performance into legally persuasive evidence of extraordinary ability. These cases often hinge on how competitive results, rankings, media coverage, and expert opinions are framed against the regulatory criteria.   An expert opinion letter can be decisive in an O1-A petition for athletes, as it can work to translate raw athletic achievement into industry-recognized significance. A well-crafted letter from a credible authority can contextualize rankings and explain the competitiveness of various athletic events. Additionally, experts can provide insight into why athletes’ accomplishments rise to the level of extraordinary ability.  The value of an expert opinion letter lies in its specificity and alignment. At Park, our experts craft letters that are carefully aligned with the relevant regulatory criteria, using concrete comparisons to top ...

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The TN Visa: Requirements and Challenges

Posted by: Park Evaluations

The TN nonimmigrant classification allows qualified Canadian citizens to seek temporary entry into the US to engage in professional-level business activities. Most TN categories require a bachelor's degree, professional degree, or professional license. For TN purposes, a "postsecondary certificate or diploma" must equate to at least two years of undergraduate coursework, meaning a one-year Ontario college certificate or a two-year CEGEP DEC alone would not meet the threshold. USCIS scrutiny of TN petitions typically falls into two categories: whether the right TN classification has been chosen (the duties of the position must align with the USMCA professional category claimed) or whether the candidate is qualified for that category (based on their academic credentials and relevant work experience). How Park Can Help  Park offers 3 distinct types of expert letters in support of TN petitions, each tailored to the specific challenge at hand: ...

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