SIMEIO SOLUTIONS

26 I. & N. Dec. 542
CourtBoard of Immigration Appeals
DecidedJuly 1, 2015
DocketID 3832
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 26 I. & N. Dec. 542 (SIMEIO SOLUTIONS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Board of Immigration Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
SIMEIO SOLUTIONS, 26 I. & N. Dec. 542 (bia 2015).

Opinion

Cite as 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015) Interim Decision #3832

Matter of SIMEIO SOLUTIONS, LLC Decided April 9, 2015 U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Administrative Appeals Office

(1) A change in the place of employment of a beneficiary to a geographical area requiring a corresponding Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (“LCA”) be certified to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with respect to that beneficiary may affect eligibility for H-1B status; it is therefore a material change for purposes of 8 C.F.R. §§ 214.2(h)(2)(i)(E) and (11)(i)(A) (2014).

(2) When there is a material change in the terms and conditions of employment, the petitioner must file an amended or new H−1B petition with the corresponding LCA.

ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: Candie Tou Clement, Esquire, Clawson, Michigan

The California Service Center Director (“Director”) revoked the petitioner’s nonimmigrant visa petition and certified the decision to the Administrative Appeals Office (“AAO”) for review. The AAO finds that the petitioner has not overcome the specified grounds for revocation. 1 Accordingly, the Director’s decision will be affirmed and the petition’s approval will be revoked.

I. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND The petitioner filed a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) to classify the beneficiary as an H−1B temporary nonimmigrant worker pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) (2012). In support of the petition, the petitioner submitted a certified Department of Labor (“DOL”) Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (ETA Form 9035/9035E) (“LCA”). On the Form I-129, the petitioner described itself as an enterprise that provides information technology services. At the time the petition was filed, the beneficiary maintained nonimmigrant status as an

1 The AAO conducts appellate review on a de novo basis. See Dor v. Dist. Dir., INS, 891 F.2d 997, 1002 n.9 (2d Cir. 1989).

542 Cite as 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015) Interim Decision #3832

F−1 student and was employed by the petitioner pursuant to post-degree optional practical training. On the Form I-129, in the LCA, and in a letter of support, the petitioner attested that it would employ the beneficiary to serve on an in-house project at the petitioner’s facility, with an annual salary of $50,232. The petitioner identified an address in Long Beach, California (Los Angeles-Long Beach- Santa Ana, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area) as the beneficiary’s place of employment. 2 The petitioner stated that the beneficiary would provide services for a specific client and emphasized that “[the beneficiary] is and will continue to work from [the petitioner’s] Long Beach office.” The petitioner did not request other worksites and did not submit an itinerary. See 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(2)(i)(B) (2014) (requiring an itinerary for services performed in more than one location). Based upon this record, the Director approved the Form I-129 petition. After working for the petitioner in H−1B status for approximately 2 months, the beneficiary departed from the United States and applied for an H−1B visa at the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India, based on the approved petition. After interviewing the beneficiary, the Department of State consular officer requested additional documentation, including a letter from the petitioner’s client regarding the work to be performed by the beneficiary. The petitioner did not submit the requested documentation and, instead, indicated that the beneficiary provided services to clients not previously identified in the approved petition. The Embassy returned the petition to the Director for review, stating that during the course of the visa interview process, the beneficiary and the petitioner presented information that was not available to the Director at the time the petition was approved. Thereafter, officers of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) conducted a site visit at the petitioner’s Long Beach facility, the place of employment specified in the H−1B petition and supporting documents. 3 The officers’ site visit report is summarized in

2 With certain limited exceptions, the applicable DOL regulations define the term “place of employment” as the worksite or physical location where the work actually is performed by the H−1B nonimmigrant. See 20 C.F.R. § 655.715 (2014). The Office of Management and Budget established Metropolitan Statistical Areas to provide nationally consistent geographic delineations for collecting, tabulating, and publishing statistics. See 31 U.S.C. § 1104(d) (2012); 44 U.S.C. § 3504(e)(3) (2012); Exec. Order No. 10,253, 16 Fed. Reg. 5605 (June 11, 1951); 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, 75 Fed. Reg. 37,246, 37,246–52 (June 28, 2010) (discussing and defining, inter alia, Metropolitan Statistical Areas). 3 Although the petitioner bears the burden to establish eligibility for the benefit sought, USCIS may verify information submitted to meet that burden. Agency verification methods may include, but are not limited to, review of public records and information; (continued . . .)

543 Cite as 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015) Interim Decision #3832

relevant part as follows: Unable to locate the petitioner’s office at the address identified in the petition and LCA, the officers ascertained from the property manager that the petitioner had vacated the facility 2 months after the start date of the beneficiary’s H−1B employment. The officers then contacted the petitioner’s director of operations, the Form I-129 petition signatory, who indicated that the company currently utilized an employee’s home as the company address. The officers then visited the company’s newly provided address, at which the resident-employee stated that the petitioner employed approximately 45 to 50 people, the beneficiary was assigned to the petitioner’s Los Angeles office, and all employees assigned to that office either worked from home or from a client worksite. Thereafter, the Director issued a notice of intent to revoke the approval of the petition (“NOIR”). The NOIR provided a detailed statement of the related revocation ground and afforded the petitioner an opportunity to provide a rebuttal. See 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(11)(iii)(B). In response, the petitioner confirmed that the beneficiary was no longer working on the project or at the location specified in the original petition. The petitioner stated that the beneficiary’s services had been used for “various end users” and that he had worked either out of the petitioner’s Long Beach office or from his home office. With its response, the petitioner submitted a new LCA that provided two new worksites—in Camarillo, California (Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Metropolitan Statistical Area), and Hoboken, New Jersey (New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area)—as the beneficiary’s places of employment.

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Bluebook (online)
26 I. & N. Dec. 542, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simeio-solutions-bia-2015.