U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a policy memorandum Thursday related to H-1B petitions filed for workers who will be employed at third-party worksites. The agency states that significant employer violations may be more likely to occur when petitioners place employees at third-party worksites, so it has issued a guidance to adjudicators. The memo states that when a beneficiary will be placed at one or more third-party worksites, the petitioner will be required to demonstrate that it has a specific and non-speculative qualifying assignment in a specialty occupation for the beneficiary for the full duration requested on the petition.

Key points:

  • USCIS will require employers to provide itineraries for all H-1B employees who work at third-party sites.
  • Employers may be required to submit additional evidence that the H-1B holder will be employed in a specialty occupation and that the employer will maintain an employer-employee relationship for the duration of the assignment.
  • USCIS will limit the approval period to the time for which an employer can demonstrate that the employee will be engaged in “non-speculative work” and during which there is a legitimate employer-employee relationship.
  • The policy guidance took immediate effect Thursday.

BAL Analysis: The policy memorandum will increase administrative requirements for employers who assign H-1B visa holders to third-party worksites. BAL will provide additional information in the coming days.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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