USCIS: Policy Memo on Multiple H-1B Filings for the Same Beneficiary by “Related Entities”

In time for the start of the H-1B cap filing period, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a policy memo addressing the prohibition on multiple H-1B filings for the same beneficiary by "related entities (such as a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate).” The memo is based on the Administrative Appeals Office decision in the Matter of S- Inc.  which addresses a case where two petitioners not legally related or controlled filed two separate cap-subject H-1B petitions on behalf of the same beneficiary in the same fiscal year for the beneficiary to work in substantially the same job for the same end-client through the same two vendors.

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OPINION: USCIS Updates Policy for Adjudicating Nonimmigrant Worker Extension Petitions

For over a decade, filing an extension of nonimmigrant status has been fairly routine in most cases. On Monday, October 23, 2017, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memorandum that instructs its officers to apply the “same level of scrutiny to both initial petitions and extension requests for certain nonimmigrant visa categories.”

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