Salary and I-140
- Thread starter Billtoo
- Start date
Salary and I-140.
Thanks for the reply.
The problem is i am applying for 7th year extension.
For that I need LCA -- in that I will be mentioning 60K as this is what I make now.
Does this LCA(7th year) and the Labor for GC(permanent) have any thing to do with each other.
I think based on this the lawyer is saying that mismatch might trigger RFE.
Any thoughts on that.
Thanks for the reply.
The problem is i am applying for 7th year extension.
For that I need LCA -- in that I will be mentioning 60K as this is what I make now.
Does this LCA(7th year) and the Labor for GC(permanent) have any thing to do with each other.
I think based on this the lawyer is saying that mismatch might trigger RFE.
Any thoughts on that.
Billto I am exactly in the same situation as you are, pls post if you had any replies. BTW the law states that the LC salary has to be paid only after the GC approval, so technically speaking they can pay you lower salary before your GC is approved. In your case if they are paying you lower salary then for your I140 to get approved the company only needs to show that they have the ability to pay the difference. For eg if the LC salary states 70LK and you are being paid 50K then the company has to show the ability to pay the remaining 20K only.
Read the below text
2. Murthy Takes Action : NSC on Ability-to-Pay Issues
It is possible, upon occasion, for attorneys belonging to the American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA) to pose specific questions to the USCIS Service Centers or local USCIS
Offices for guidance, clarification, and/or confirmation on procedures, policies, and
interpretations. The Law Office of Sheela Murthy submitted two questions through the AILA
Liaison to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) for clarification regarding an employer's ability to
pay the offered wage. As regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will likely recall,
the employer's ability to pay the prevailing wage is required for the approval of the I-140
immigrant worker petition. This matter has received heightened attention since the issuance of a
USCIS memo dated May 4, 2004. In part, the Memo authorized examiners to deny cases based
on the ability to pay without issuing any Request for Evidence (RFE). We covered this Memo
extensively in our May 21, 2001 MurthyBulletin article, USCIS Memo on Ability to Pay
<http://www.murthy.com/news/n_uscmem.html>, available on MurthyDotCom.
Employer to Submit Ability only for Wage Difference
The first matter on which we requested clarification was whether, under the May 4, 2004 "Yates
Memo," it is sufficient, when the foreign national / beneficiary is working for the sponsoring
employer and earning less than the offered labor certification wage, to simply submit evidence of
the employer's ability to pay the difference. The NSC confirmed that the employer only needs to
submit evidence of its ability to pay the difference between the offered wage and the wage that is
already being paid by the sponsoring employer. Thus, for example, if an employer is paying an
employee $60,000 per year for a position with an annual prevailing wage of $70,000, the
employer will only need to submit evidence of how it can pay the extra $10,000 per year.
Read the below text
2. Murthy Takes Action : NSC on Ability-to-Pay Issues
It is possible, upon occasion, for attorneys belonging to the American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA) to pose specific questions to the USCIS Service Centers or local USCIS
Offices for guidance, clarification, and/or confirmation on procedures, policies, and
interpretations. The Law Office of Sheela Murthy submitted two questions through the AILA
Liaison to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) for clarification regarding an employer's ability to
pay the offered wage. As regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will likely recall,
the employer's ability to pay the prevailing wage is required for the approval of the I-140
immigrant worker petition. This matter has received heightened attention since the issuance of a
USCIS memo dated May 4, 2004. In part, the Memo authorized examiners to deny cases based
on the ability to pay without issuing any Request for Evidence (RFE). We covered this Memo
extensively in our May 21, 2001 MurthyBulletin article, USCIS Memo on Ability to Pay
<http://www.murthy.com/news/n_uscmem.html>, available on MurthyDotCom.
Employer to Submit Ability only for Wage Difference
The first matter on which we requested clarification was whether, under the May 4, 2004 "Yates
Memo," it is sufficient, when the foreign national / beneficiary is working for the sponsoring
employer and earning less than the offered labor certification wage, to simply submit evidence of
the employer's ability to pay the difference. The NSC confirmed that the employer only needs to
submit evidence of its ability to pay the difference between the offered wage and the wage that is
already being paid by the sponsoring employer. Thus, for example, if an employer is paying an
employee $60,000 per year for a position with an annual prevailing wage of $70,000, the
employer will only need to submit evidence of how it can pay the extra $10,000 per year.
Last edited by a moderator:
voldemarv said:
Ability to pay RFE is generally for the employer to show capability of paying the offered wage from the date labor has been filed. The best way to show the ability, is to show that they have been already paying the employee the said salary.
If your Labor was for future employment or you dont get RFE your I-140 might go through.
If it is current employment there are good chances for RFE and if your employer has sufficient profits on tax returns then the case will go through even if the salary being paid is less than the labor wage.
If Employer (tax return) profits are low and the salary being paid is less than the labor wage, you better file backup from another employer.
So in short for billtoo if the net income of your company is greater than the diff in LC wage and actual wage then your I140 will get approved(assuming your degree certificates and experience letter are all in order), correct me if I am wrong Unitednations
Coming to your H1B case where you will be showing a lower salary than what is mentioned in your GC labor then ideally speaking that should not be an issue at all as GC has nothing to do with H1B but recently I read in one of the posts that someone's I140 got denied bcos his salary was 47K on H1 and his LC salary was 70K or something but I fail to understand and think that that should not be the reason for the I140 denial, once again I request Unitednations to correct me if I am wrong
Coming to your H1B case where you will be showing a lower salary than what is mentioned in your GC labor then ideally speaking that should not be an issue at all as GC has nothing to do with H1B but recently I read in one of the posts that someone's I140 got denied bcos his salary was 47K on H1 and his LC salary was 70K or something but I fail to understand and think that that should not be the reason for the I140 denial, once again I request Unitednations to correct me if I am wrong
Prevailing Wages.
Is there any relationship with the prevailing wages -- with Labor(GC) wages and H1B wages. I work in the very small city. I saw in my LCA for H1B extension, that the prevailing wages is 39,000.
My h1B wages - 60K and Labor for GC is 70K.
If one is paid over the prevailing wages --- does that make things ok.
Is there any relationship with the prevailing wages -- with Labor(GC) wages and H1B wages. I work in the very small city. I saw in my LCA for H1B extension, that the prevailing wages is 39,000. My h1B wages - 60K and Labor for GC is 70K.
If one is paid over the prevailing wages --- does that make things ok.