The request for evidence (RFE) for H-1B specialty occupation worker visa petitions is in full swing and USCIS has added a new impediment to the H-1B process: the challenge to level I prevailing wage Labor Condition Applications (LCAs). Typically, USCIS will send requests for evidence of the professional nature of the position (requiring at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field) and/or the availability of sufficient professional work. This newest request for evidence, that the offered H-1B position is entry level where the underlying LCA relies on a prevailing wage level of I, is particularly misguided, illogical and unreasonable.
USCIS is relying on the entry-level definition from the US Department of Labor’s prevailing wage guidance. This guidance states: “Level I (entry) wage rates are assigned to job offers for beginning level employees who have only a basic understanding of the occupation. These employees perform routine tasks that require limited, if any, exercise of judgment. The tasks provide experience and familiarization with the employer’s methods, practices, and programs. The employees may perform higher level work for training and developmental purposes. These employees work under close supervision and receive specific instructions on required tasks and results expected. Their work is closely monitored and reviewed for accuracy.”
USCIS appears to be challenging the validity of an entry level of any position, which would have a level I prevailing wage determination. It is conflating the level within a particular occupation with the overall substantive nature of the knowledge and skill involved in every level of the occupation itself. In other words, it is ignoring that even the highest-skilled occupations, such as physicians, include a basic staging point from which every physician begins his or her career.
Also, USCIS’ RFEs on the level I prevailing wage positions violate the primary regulation on H-1B specialty occupations. The controlling regulations on the definition of a “specialty occupation” for H-1B purposes does not require that the job duties themselves satisfy the level I definition as noted by USCIS in the RFEs. Rather, according to 8 CFR §214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(1)-(4), an H-1B specialty occupation is one defined as satisfying only one of the four requirements listed below:
1. A baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum requirement for entry into the particular position;
2. The degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations or, in the alternative, an employer may show that its particular position is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree;
3. The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or
4. The nature of the specific duties are [sic] so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree.
Therefore, if the employer can evidence that the proffered position normally requires at least a bachelor’s degree (within the organization, industry wide or as recognized as the normal requirement for entry into the particular position), then the employer has met its burden.