I-140, RFE for credential evaluation, Potential denial, Options?

Hi Unitednations,

I finally got an RFE from the USCIS.The Case status still shows my Petition as being Under Process.

The RFE is:

Quote: You are requesting Substitution of this beneficiary on the Labor Certification and have provided a copy of a Labor Certification for another alien.Based on a review of Service records it does not appear that you have filled an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker(Form-I140) for the original alien beneficiary for whom the Labor Certification was initially filed.

Please provide a copy of the receipt number for the previously filed I140 Petition that was filed for the Original alien identified on the labor Certification if any or:

Submit an original completed Labor Department Form ETA-750 Parts A and B.If the job offered is one that is not currently listed in schedule A,the Department of labor must stamp the Form ETA-750 with an individual labor certification.


My Attorney said that they will respond to the attorney as under:

1) No I140 Filed.(Giving a Sworn statement from the company CEO to the
USCIS attesting this fact).

2) The Original Labor Certification is Lost. At the time of Filing We had
submitted through the DOL a Certified Copy of the Certification. The
Correspondence with DOL and also Letter from the DOL to the Company
about submission of Certified Copy to the USCIS will be Submitted as a
Reply. Also we will be sending in another Certified Copy of Labor
Certification which was given by DOL to our attorney.

He said that this is Routine RFE and that once the Reply was given we should expect an approval in 4-6 weeks.

Regards
 
I got an RFE on I-140 for Credential Evaluation. I already had my credentials evaluated by TrustForte in 1997 for my H1B. I don't know if that can be used or it has to be done afresh. The initial evaluation had stated that my degrees is equivalent to a US degree of Master of Science in Computer Science. I have an MCA degree from Gujarat University.

Let's see what happens in my case.
 
bole,

Did you submit any credential evaluation in the original filing of 140?
If not, it is very likely that you will get a REF.
 
And finally I am I-140 enabled..:))

Finally it happened, after all the speculations and all kindda backup plans I made up.
My I-140 was approved this afternoon and I got the mail around 4:15 pm.

I-140 - ND Oct, 2003
RFE - 19th July 2004 - Education evaluation.
RFE response received by INS on 18th Aug, 2004. Damn that evaluation sent to INS by my lawyer was horrible.
I-140 Approved - Sept 16th, 2004 - 4:15 pm EST :D

Thanks a lot to all of you guys for all your feedback.
BTW, my LUD was never changed after 19th Aug, 2004 (the day they updated my RFE response)
 
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I-140 RFE on education ..UnitedNations: Please help

I -140
EB3
RD: 08/28/2003
RFE: 09/08/2004
Service center : California

I really appreciate your help on my case. I am worried that my I 140 will be denied.
Following are the details of the case.
Our company has 70 employees. I am working as a Java Developer. USCIS asked following things in RFE. Ability to pay, Tax Documents- Beneficiary and Education. I am very concerned about the Education part. I have Mechanical Engineering degree from an Indian University. Got Sun certification for Java
In the RFE, they asked the following exactly.

--Start of the Education part of RFE--->

Education: Submit evidence to establish that the beneficiary possesses the education/training listed on the form ETA 750 (Application for Alien Employment Certification). Evidence of education/training should be submitted on the institution's official letterhead or stationary indicating the courses taken and the credits received, and any conference of certificates or degrees. If a baccalaureate degree is required, submit a copy of the official college or university transcript. The diploma must be in a form of an official college or university record showing the date the baccalaureate degree was awarded and the area of concentration of study. Foreign documents must be accompanied by a certified English translation

Note: part A of form ETA indicates the petitioner requires at least a United states Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related. The petitioner previously submitted evidence of Mechanical Engineering that is not related to the offered position as a Java developer. The petitioner is requested to submit evidence of the beneficiary to demonstrate that the beneficiary’s qualification met the requirements
<-- End of the Education part of RFE ---------

I have the copy of Application for Alien Employment Certification (Form ETA 750). It says the following thing exactly for the Field 14.

Start -->

14. State in detail the Minimum Education , training and experience for a worker to perform satisfactory the job duties described in item 13 above.

Education : (Bold letters were entered by our company)

College : 4
College Degree Required (Specify) : Bachelors
Major field of Study : C.S., Engineering or related

<---- End

Lawyer said he will think about it and let me know about the reply. United Nations, what do you think the reply should be? What are the chances that it will get denied? Your help is highly appreciated.

thanks in advance
 
my two cents

reliable_guy,
I think you do need to make sure that the evaluation report you send to INS makes lot of sense to them:
Check this link, these are published samples of I-140 denied under Skilled labor category (search for "code B5", on usci web site)
http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/admindec3/b5/2003/index.htm

I did see a case where USCI denied for a reason "Bachelor's in civil engg. from India is not equivalent to Bachelor's in comp. sc. from US"

Talk to your lawyer and talk to some guys and find out something about credential evaluation companies. There are too many out there. You need the one, which can give you a good report. Also I will suggest that get two evaluations simultaneously and send the one looks more appropriate.

(Don't use the ITES Inc, I got a very shady report from them)

I think you might also want to instruct the evaluation company to clearly establish atleast following facts:
1) You have 4-year bachelor's degree in mechanical engg, which is equivalent to 4 year Bachelor's degree in mech engg from US.
2) You have sun certification (I don't know what level you have) which is equivalent to "<this much>" US comp. Science degree. (I am assuming that your certification is prior to joining your current company)
3) Your combined degree is equivalent to bachelors in comp. Sc. from US
(One of the thing education evaluation companies often overlook is the fact that 1st year of all engg streams is common to all, and they often just pick the courses which seems to be computer related)

They also often neglect the project work. So in case your project work during ur final year of Engg was computer related, send some documentations to evaluators for it.

Basically the positive thing about your case is that you do have a 4 year bachelor;s degree, however it is not directly related to computer sc. But I guess additional sun certification does make it related to comp. sc.

Another advise, if you are on H1 VISA, don't leave the H1 Visa status till I-140 is approved. Keep extending it till then.

Good luck in the mean time
 
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[I am working on h1b as system analyst with education which was evaluated equivalent to Bach of information system (my education is b.com -3years + 1 diploma in computers) .
On the same grounds my lawyer has filed my labor cert with the req as Bach in information science & 2years exp in eta form. Nothing is filled in box 15. I hope he has done right thing, as I understand rejection of 140 on education bases, please advice
 
I am working on h1b as system analyst with education which was evaluated equivalent to Bach of information system (my education is b.com -3years + 1 diploma in computers) .
On the same grounds my lawyer has filed my labor cert with the req as Bach in information science & 2years exp in eta form. Nothing is filled in box 15. I hope he has done right thing, as I understand rejection of 140 on education bases, please advice
 
Karim66,

I have bachelor of arts + 1 year of computers and my LC was same as yours. Column 14 "BS" "computer science/engineering and column 15 is blank. My education evaluations says "equivalent to bachelor of computer science in USA".

Its not always same for everybody, my coleagues got approval from Vermont but they denied my 140 already and as per murthy and other attorneys there is nothing much they can do.

I'm struggling to get my 7th year extension now.
 
updates from Rajiv Khanna

This is the feedback I got from Attorney Rajiv Khanna.

As per him
- CIS officers doesn't consider Efren Hernandez report
- Filing MTR/appeal is wastage of time and money and success is highly unlikely
- There is no movement from AILA or any other immigration attorneys' assoiciation to protect us from this disaster. Even then the rejection bounces back to there ignorance
- He is ready to handle the case, if somebody wants to file a lawsuit against INS for 140 denial

Only Option :
If LC is not approved yet :
As eastwest mentioned talk to your attorney and make amendment to the labor which can protect you

If LC is approved :
Then its your hard luck. File new LC, if you have time.
 
Unitednations and Jim, I have a similar question:

MY LC states that Bacherlors in Computer Science or Electrical/Electronics Engineering required for my job. The LC has been approved and I am preparing to file I-140. I have an old educational evaluation from 1999/2000 which states that my foreing drgree is equivalent to a US 4 year engr/computer science degree. Can I use this or do I need to get a recent evaluatioAlso, I now have an MBA (obtained in US). My MBA is not required by my job description. Do I have to mention my MBA in the educational evaluation or do I leave it out since it's not required by my job?

Thanks.
 
Client address as work address, any possible issue for I-140?

Hello Gurus,

I have a small question. Here is my situation:

I am a software consultant working in software consulting firm. My company is located in CA and my client is located in CT(long term project). While filing labor, my attorney provided my client address (CT) as my work address. Can there be any issue on I-140 approval due to fact that my company does not have any branch in CT? If yes, any suggestion to fix it?

One more thing, I am paying CT state tax.

Thanks,
 
Hello Forum,

For me getting a Labor through PERM was like getting a green card. But soon I realized the game has just started and I fought all these days just to play the game. Past one month I have been running around to get Medical tests etc done. But I am stuck at one crucial point. I am sure Guru's out here may have faced/heard/knowlegeable about this Scenario.

My company got my Labor Approved (EB2 which looks like may get retrogessed in December). I am not married yet and am planning to get married some time early next year with a girl who is in H1B. My question is, how easy is it to include Spouses grren card application while my I485 is still pending ?

My lawyer is pushing me to file 140 and 485 right now, and include spouses name later. But I am not aware of the risks involved.

I will be grateful if someone could comment on my situation.

Thanks
 
Education evaluation issue.

Gurus/United Nations,

I have 3 year(BSc )+2 year(Msc )+1 year(Mphil ) degree in India. My major is Physics with Electonics specilization. 10 years experience before joining this company.

My labor job requirement is "Bachelors in Computer science or related field". I talked to my lawyer about the missing of word "equivalency". He said since I have masters degree it is not an issue. My labor is in blacklog. CA/RIR/EB3

Please advice:
- Am I ok?

- If not, is it advisable to get my current labor amended?

- Or is it advisable to get a new labor as a bakcup?

- During I-140 filing, should I give the educational evaluation for US Bachelors in Computer Science equivalence or to US Masters in Physics(Electronics minor) equivalence ?

Thanks in advance.
 
same situation

I am also in a similar situation.
did anyone of you did only BSc(bac in science = 3yrs) and 2 yrs PGDCA evaluation done. what was it equivalent to?.
 
Hi there,

I recieved an RFE asking if I need to change my classification from EB2 to EB3. This resulted because in QH4 we said masters is the minimum requirement. And in Q H8 for alternative education/experince we stated "Any suitable combination of education, training or expericne". INS is saying that it does not appear it was an EB2 case and asked if we desire to change it to EB3 category.

We prepared a response, documenting our entire recruitment steps where in each advertisement we clearly asked for Masters. We also reponded to DOL Audit where we clearly stated tht we rejected 11 candidates because they had Bachelors degree. Our wage determination too was baed on Masters.

In our response we did submit all these documents. And also mentioned that we misunderstood the question H8 and responded that way to be fair to people with higher degree etc. As there was no clear indication of how to fill the new PERM form.

What do you guys think. Is the argument just enough to get through as EB2 or you think it will be denied ? Is there any precedence where RFE is asking to switch to EB3 but on proper explanation it was approved as EB2.. Or has all the application been denied.


Thanks
 
degree evaluation

getanswers-2 said:
I am also in a similar situation.
did anyone of you did only BSc(bac in science = 3yrs) and 2 yrs PGDCA evaluation done. what was it equivalent to?.

I am a credential evaluator and I have had success evaluating the 3 year bachelors degree as equivalent to a US bachelor's degree with USCIS -even Nebraska. Also, a 2 year PGD can be evaluated as equivalent to a Masters degree. You can't use a company that does cookie-cutter evaluations. You need your evaluation handled properly and you can have success.

I will be happy to look over your mark sheets and tell you what can be done. No charge.

Sheila Danzig
sheila at danzig dot com
 
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