Hi Ginnu,
This is my eployment letter: Do you have any comment on this:
This letter is to confirm that XXX has been employed with XXX as a regular, full-time employee since XXX. XXX holds the professional position of XXX at an annual salary of at least XXX. He possesses valid H-1B status and has held this status since October 1, 2007.
However, when I asked my company about certified H1 petition they told me that: "The "certified copy" of the petition is the attorney certified true copy. The USCIS no longer needs an attorney certified copy as the consulate will verify the authenticity of the H-1B internally with USCIS thru the PIMS when your spouse applies for the H-4 visa"
Is this right?
------------------------You should ask "certified copy" of the petition is the attorney.consulate will ask for it and what is the problem if you get extra document from attorney?
FYI inform your employer that PIMS is creating problems at this time and may delay the H1 or H4 process with US consulates.
Thanks a lot
Here is info from attorney Matthew Oh regarding PIMS let your employer/ attorney read it
08/18/2008: Nonimmigrant EB-Visa Application Potential Delays Associated With PIMS
AILA has reported that this problem is still continuing and the EB nonimmigrant visa applicants who changed or extended the EB nonimmigrant status, particularly before late March 2008, may have to be prepared for the potential delays at the visa posts. This advisory applies only to those whose EB nonimmigrant EOS or COS duplicate original copy was not filed with the Service Centers at the time they filed I-129 EOS/COS petitions. There are a couple of things people should remember:
The visa posts no longer requires the original I-797 EB nonimmigrant EOS/COS approval notices issued by the Service Centers, but people may still have to carry it with them as the CBP officials at the airports may still require such original I-797.
Filing I-824 is neither required nor of help in the event that the people failed to file I-129 in duplicate. People may not waste money and time.
If the duplicate has not been filed, it is likely that the visa posts will issue a notice to such visa applicant that the visa application is "in administrative process." This language implies that the KCC does not have his/her I-797 approval record in their system and the KCC is in the process of accessing the USCIS CLAIMS database to get access to the USCIS approval action. Currently, only KCC has access to the USCIS CLAIMS database and not visa posts. This process will cause some delays for the visa posts to issue the visas, but they will be able to issue the visas eventually once the KCC completes the CLAIMS verification. This is one of the reasons why filing I-824 is not helpful at all considering the fact that I-824 has its own processing backlogs.
Report indicates that the problem may persist until the USCIS electronoc filing system of Transformation Program is completed, which is still miles away. It is thus imperative that the EB nonimmigrant status extension or change of status applicants file the petitions "in duplicate" in every and all situations. Once the duplicate is filed, the USCIS forwards the second set to the KCC under the agreement between the USCIS and the State Department, and the KCC will be able to verify such record immediately upon the visa posts requests. Neither visa posts or involved aliens currently have any means to check the KCC record prior to filing of visa applications.
What are the sources of the problem? It all boils down to the funding problem. The USCIS does not have financial and human resources to forward every single EOS or COS approval to the KCC and at the same time cannot allow the visa posts overseas to get access to the USCIS CLAIMS system until the Transformation Program is completed when all the EOS/COS will be filed online and no paper filing will be permitted. People should thus work within the given situation. "Given situation" means (1) Always File I-129 in Duplicate, and (2) If Failed to File in Duplicate, Be Prepared for Potential Delays in Visa Issuance at Visa Posts, Particularly if Filed Before Late March 2008!
