Electronic Form I-94–Automation Started by CBP

 

Due to the Automation Process started by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from 30th of April, 2013, USCIS has begun updating certain forms requesting applicants and petitioners to enter the admission number from their Form I-94 and/or their:

• Passport information, including passport number, country of issuance and expiration date; and
• Travel Document information, including Travel Document number, country of issuance and expiration date.

[Source – USCIS]

So, prior to this automation, the Form I-94 which was given to you by the airline staff to fill up and submit it to CBP at the port of entry, is not needed anymore.

You can pull your electronic Form I-94 in paper format from CBP’s website (www.cbp.gov/I94).

Entering United States on an H-1B Visa–Form I-94

 

UPDATE – Manual printed I-94 process (mentioned in this old post) has been replaced with Electronic Automated I-94, click to read more.

Just before your flight to United States is about to land, you will be presented a form, by the airline staff, as shown below:

This form is called Form I-94 and it is basically an Arrival-Departure Record of a foreigner, kept and maintained by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and used by USCIS.

You must fill out Form I-94 and present the completed form to customs officer at your respective port of entry (airport) to the United States. The customs officer will stamp the form and keep the Arrival Record portion and returned you the stamped Departure Record portion of Form I-94 (The area highlighted in blue box in above picture).

You must submit the stamped Departure Record portion of Form I-94 when leaving the United States so that your departure can be recorded properly. If you failed to submit the Departure Record portion at the time of departure, it will create a lot of difficulties for you, if you try to re-enter to United States at some point in time in future.

221(g) Administrative Processing and the Actual Visa Stamping

 

On the day of your H-1B Visa Interview at US Consulate or Embassy, when Visa Officer finished asking questions, he/she will conclude the interview by letting you know whether you succeed or failed in the interview. If you succeed, there are two cases:

1. The Visa Officer hand over to you a 221(g) Administrative Processing Form and say that Administrative Processing is required in your case.
   
   It is possible that the Visa Officer will ask for some more documents related to you or your Sponsor, which you and/or your Sponsor has not submitted throughout the process. Not that these documents were required initially, but they might need them in your case for further clarification.

   It is also possible that they don’t ask for any further documents and your application still have to go through the Administrative Process.

   The actual amount of wait might also vary from case to case. Generally they give you the time of 6 to eight weeks, but in actual it can be less or more than.

   “After the interview, many visa applications necessitate further routine but required administrative processing, an integral part of the visa adjudication process that can be neither waived nor expedited. Individuals whose applications require this processing will be informed of that fact at the conclusion of their interview. Most administrative processing is completed within 60 to 90 days of the visa interview, but some cases do take longer. We cannot predict how long this processing will take for any particular case.”

   Source - http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/nonimmigrant_visa_faqs.html

    

2. The Visa Office will inform you about an estimated time frame when your H-1B Visa will be stamped on your Passport.

UPDATE – You can now Check your Visa Application Status Online, click to read more

In either cases, once your H-1B Visa is stamped on your Passport and your Passport is ready to be collected from American Express, you will receive a call from American Express representative to come and pick it up.

The Sponsor will send the H-1B Package Documents to the Candidate

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

Once your H-1B petition I-129 is approved and your Sponsor received the I-797B Approval Notice from USCIS, your sponsor will courier you, that original I-797B along with a copy of your petition which includes all documents submitted to USCIS for case approval.

The H-1B Package you will receive from your Sponsor via courier include following documents:

1. Original I-797B Approval Notice as show here
2. Copy of your H-1B Petition I-129
3. Copy of all documents which your sponsor submit along with your H-1B Petition I-129 to USCIS
   1. Copy of your Resume / CV
   2. Copy of your Degrees / Transcripts / Certificates
   3. Copy of your Passport
   4. Copy of your Education Evaluation Letter
   5. Copy of your Offer Letter with complete Job Description
   6. Copy of an official letter from Sponsor describing why you are a best fit for the job
   7. Copy of your US Itinerary
   8. Copy of any other supported documents that Sponsor has submitted to USCIS

How courier will deliver your package?

The delivery mechanism for such a package is little different from normal courier deliveries. Once the local city office receives your package, they will call you on your mobile/cell phone and confirm with you if you are expecting a package delivery from USA. Once you confirm them, they will send the rider to your location and the rider will deliver the package and get your signatures at the time of delivery.

H-1B Petition I-129 Processing Time and Trends

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

Current Trends – As of today i.e. 16th December 2012.

Following chart depicts the current I-129 Processing Time of USCIS National Average and Vermont Service Center. So, based on current trend, if your petition will be filed at Vermont Service Center, a decision might be taken in 2.1 months from the actual date of filing. A decision could be Approval Notice, Rejection or an RFE.

Following chart shows the I-129 Processing Volume Trend of Vermont Service Center.

Following chart shows National Trend for I-129 Processing Volume

Source – USCIS

How to view most current Processing Time, Volumes and Trends?

1. Go to https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do
2. From the second table at the bottom titled “Processing Times”:
1. Select a form type – select “I-129” and click “Next” button (page will refresh)
2. Select a form sub-type – select “H-1B – Specialty Occupation – Visa to be issued abroad” and click “Next” button (page will refresh)
3. Select an office – select any office you wish to view and click “Next” button (page will refresh)
4. Current Processing Time will be shown in the form of chart (similar to the chart shown above – the very first image above)
3. On the same page and just beneath the second table, there is a link “View national volumes and trends for all applications”. Click on that link and it will take you to a new page titles “National Processing Volumes and Trends”. From that page:
1. Select a form type – select “I-129”
2. Select an office – select any office you wish to see
3. Select chart type – select any chart you wish to see
4. Click on the button “Get Results”. Page will refresh and you will see two charts similar to the one shown above – last 2 images)

Request for Evidence (RFE) Processing Time

 

USCIS can process your response for RFE in as little as one week, but usually they’ll take 6 to 9 weeks for processing. However, there are examples when they took 12 weeks or more to process the response against an RFE.

Bottom line: No one can predict, how much time USCIS will take to process a response. It is advisable to contact USCIS, if you (read Sponsor) do not receive any response from USCIS in 90 days or 12 weeks of time.

Why Request for Evidence (RFE)?–Recent Trends

 

On a mission to eradicate fraud, USCIS is increasingly responding to petitions with burdensome Requests for Evidence (RFE). Over the past years, different trends has been observed, such as:

End Client

The USCIS recently changed the format of their Requests for Evidence (RFE) for petitions where the employee is located at a client site. In the past, the focus of these types of RFEs centered around the employer/employee relationship, but now, they have started questioning whether the position at the end-client requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.

These RFEs seem to be targeted at IT staffing companies because they include language that says that the record indicates the petitioner “is in the business of locating persons with computer-related backgrounds and placing these individuals in positions with firms that use such personnel to complete their projects.”

The RFEs suggest that in order to overcome USCIS's doubts, employers must provide copies of signed contracts, master agreements, work orders, statements of work, services agreements and letters between the employer and authorized officials of the ultimate end-client companies and that these documents should contain a description of the duties, the requirements for the position, salary, hours worked, benefits and a brief description of who will supervise the employee.

Education

The USCIS has in the past has placed an emphasis on education and has been issuing RFE where they are asking about:

1. Education evaluation from a reputable evaluation company. Further, if the evaluation requires a combination of education and experience to equate to either a 4 year degree or a degree that is relevant to the position, the USCIS is requiring evidence establishing the evaluator's credentials and qualifications. It is important that Sponsors who sponsor H1B applicants with foreign degrees get their evaluations from credible evaluation companies and that they submit the evidence regarding the evaluator’s credentials and qualifications.
2. How a person’s degree relates to the position. They are questioning this more frequently so it is important to verify that there is either classwork or experience that an H1B applicant can show in order to prove that their education/experience is relevant to the position that is being filed for on their behalf.

Right to Control

The USCIS continues to question an employer’s ability to control their employee when that employee is located off-site. Further, they question the employer’s employer/employee relationship and how the employer intends to maintain this while the employee is working at a client site.

These doubts have been raised since the Neufeld memo was published in 2010. An end-client letter which states that the project/assignment will last for 3 years resolves this issue, but in most cases, end-clients are hesitant to issue these types of letters as they feel that it can be construed as a contractual commitment to that consultant and their employer.

Other Notable Observations

• Although additional scrutiny has affected companies of all types and sizes, those that design and/or produce products are not nearly as hard hit as companies that provide IT services.
• USCIS is increasingly tallying and tracking cases filed by each company. Companies that file a disproportionately high number of petitions relative to its overall headcount often face more burdensome RFEs.