H-1B Visa Filing Tips from the VSC

The Vermont Service Center offers the following filing tips for the upcoming H-1B visa fiscal year (2009):

  • A separate check for each applicable filing fee (I-129, Premium Processing, Fraud Fee, dependent riding filings, and/or ACWIA fee) is preferred. If only one check is submitted and it is incorrect, then the entire package will be rejected.
  • If multiple petitions will be included in the same courier service or Post Office package, please separate filings into separate envelopes within the package.
  • Inconsistent and incorrect answers on the I-129 will result in unnecessary delays and possible rejection of the submission. Please double check the petition to make sure you have answered all the questions and that the answers are consistent and correct throughout the entire package, including the petition and all accompanying documentation. USCIS cannot make assumptions about what a petitioner really intended if that is not clear on the face of the documents submitted.

When completing the Form I-129 H-1B Data Collection Supplement, the VSC advises of the following:

  • If you check "yes" to the question of whether the beneficiary has a U.S. Master's degree in Part A, #5 of the supplement, then Part C, #7 should also be checked "yes."
  • If your worker is or has ever been a J-1 please note: Part C, #4 of the supplement does not refer to all J-1s who have been granted waivers of the 212(e) 2-year foreign residency requirement. Check "Yes" only if your worker is a doctor or a medical researcher who has been granted a Conrad 30 waiver under INA section 14(I)(1)(B) to work in a medically underserved area, or a waiver under INA section 214(I)(1)(C) based on a request by an Interested Government Agency (IGA).
  • If Part C, Item # 7 (beneficiary has earned master’s degree or higher degree from U.S. institution of higher education) on the Form I-129 H1B Data Collection Sheet is checked “Yes”, then the petition must contain evidence that the beneficiary earned the degree prior to the filing of the Form I-129.

From AILA Liaison/VSC Meeting Minutes, AILA Doc. No. 08031331 (3/05/08).

H-1B VisaBrian D. Zuccaro, Esq.