North County Immigration was retained by a Southern California based Law Firm Petitioner in order to file an H-1B extension for a key employee. The beneficiary had the title of Legal Research Associate, and performed many of the same duties as a fully licensed Attorney. Like so many others this year, the firm was having tremendous difficulties dealing with COVID-19, and they were only able to gather the necessary documentation within days of the beneficiary’s status expiration date. Our team was able to timely file the H-1B package, however, shortly thereafter, we received a Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS. The primary issue within the RFE stemmed from the job classification, which was “Judicial Law Clerk”, for the beneficiary. USCIS claimed the beneficiary’s job duties did not match the associated classification code. NCI successfully prepared legal arguments in its response to the RFE, centering around the fact that the “Judicial Law Clerk” code, despite not being a perfect match for the beneficiary’s job title of “Legal Research Associate”, was by far the best available choice within the O*NET classifications, based on the most relevant factors. NCI received an approval notice shortly thereafter, successfully granting the beneficiary another 3 year term with H-1B status. Whether you are filing a new petition or extending your current status, the team at North County Immigration is here to service your H-1B needs.
Successful response of RFE in H-1B Approval
