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H-1B Visa Lottery: More Than One Ticket to the Jackpot?

4/5/18

By: Layli Eskandari Deal

The answer is No.  U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has adopted a ruling made by the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) to prohibit multiple H-1B visa request by related entities on behalf of the same beneficiary for the same fiscal year.

Under the H-1B visa cap, employers are only allowed to submit one visa petition on behalf of a beneficiary.  Multiple filings are prohibited. The underlying case arose from USCIS revoking an approved visa petition reasoning that that the employer and a “related entity” had filed for the same beneficiary under the visa cap.

Matter of S-, Inc. (AAO March 23, 2018) clarifies that that the term “related entities” includes “employers, whether or not related through corporate ownership and control, that file cap-subject H-1B visa petitions for the same beneficiary for substantially the same job.  Absent a legitimate business need to file multiple cap-subject petitions for the same beneficiary, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services will deny or revoke the approval of all H-1B cap-subject petitions filed by related entities for that beneficiary.”

In making its decision, the Administrative Appeals Office points to regulation and ultimately fairness in the visa number allocation process.

For additional information related to this topic and for advice regarding how to navigate U.S. immigration laws you may contact Layli Eskandari Deal of the law firm of Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP at (770-551-2700) or LDEAL@fmglaw.com.