February 23, 2018
USCIS Announces New Requirements for H-1B Petitions Involving Third-Party Worksites
On February 23, 2018 USCIS published a new policy memorandum regarding requirements for H-1B petitions involving third-party worksites. Specifically, the memorandum sets forth the following policies:
- Itineraries will now be required, without exception, for all petitions involving multiple worksites, even for petitions that do not involve third-party placement. The itineraries must include dates and locations of provided services.
- USCIS will limit the duration of an H-1B approval to the length of time the worker will be engaged in non-speculative work, as demonstrated by supporting evidence. For example, if a petition only provides evidence of a project that will last for 6 months, the H-1B will only be approval for a 6-month duration even though H-1Bs may generally be approved for up to 3 years.
- Petitions involving third-party worksites must provide evidence that the actual work will be performed in the specialty occupation. Such evidence may include work assignments, signed contractual agreements, detailed statements of work or work orders, or a signed letter from an authorized official of the end-client company.
- If contracts between the employer and end client are provided as evidence, the contracts must do more than set forth general obligations of the parties. Rather, the contracts should provide specific information pertaining to the actual work to be performed.
- When applying to extend an H-1B for third-party worksites, petitioners must demonstrate that they have met the H-1B requirements for the entire prior approval period.
There is still time to apply for this year’s H-1B Cap lottery. For more information about USCIS’s new H-1B policy and how it affects your company, or if you have interest in applying for an H-1B Visa for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, please contact our office.